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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



Eminent American Statesmen 



SPEECHES, ADDRESSES AND LETTERS 



Ex-Governor B. F! PERRY 



OF GREENVILLE, S. C, 



INTEODUCTOEY BY SENATOR WADE KAlVi£ TON. 



PREFACED BY AN 



OUTLINE OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE. 



THE FEEEEE PEESS, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

1887. 



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THIS VOLUME 

IS COMPILED AND PUBLISHED 

BY THE WIFE 

IN MEMORY OF THE BELOVED AND DEVOTED HUSBAND, 

WHO, DURING A MARRIED LIFE OF FIFTY YEARS, 

FOUND IN HIS CHARACTER AND LIFE 

ONLY WHAT SHE COULD 

LOVE, HONOR, AND BE PROUD OF, 

AND WHOSE CARE IT IS 

THAT THE MEMORY OF HIS VIRTUES 

AND THE EXAMPLE OF HIS 

NOBLE DEVOTION" TO HIS DUTY AND HIS COUNTRY 

SHALL BE 

PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. 



SANS SOUCI, GREENVILLE, SO, CAROLINA. 



PREFACE. 



The first series of Governor Perry's writings were pub- 
lished in book form in 1883 — Reminiscences of Public Men. 
When that volume met with public favor, it was promised 
that a second one would be forthcoming. The entire edi- 
tion of said Reminiscences having been exhausted, we now 
fulfil our promise, in issuing the second, as Sketches of 
Eminent American Statesmen. 

The best evidence of a man's value in the world, and of 
his character, is given by those who have felt and seen his 
work, and known his life by direct observation of it and 
contact with him. 

The author, Governor B. F. Perry, being now deceased, 
it has been thought well to publish with these Sketches, 
an outline-sketch of his noble and useful life, and a compi- 
lation of the expressions regarding him, evoked by his 
death, from the newspaper and leading men of his State, 
where he was most intimately known ; from the Legisla- 
ture, and from the Bar and Courts where he practised so 
many years. 

Should this volume meet with equal favor, another will 
be published, containing a biography and copies from the 
private journal of the author. 

Hext M. Perry, M. D. 

Phila., Pa., June 14, 1887. 



INTRODUCTION 

BY 

SENATOR WADE HAMPTON. 



The public are indebted for this volume to her, 
who, for many years, was the devoted wife, the liv- 
ing helpmate of its distinguished author, and this 
fact lends a pathetic interest to the work itself. Mrs. 
Perry, though advanced in years, and bowed down 
by a great grief, assumed the task of compiling 
and arranging for publication the writings of her 
husband, and no tribute to the memory of the dead 
patriot and statesman could be more appropriate, or 
more touching than this offered by her loving heart. 
No monument to perpetuate his name and his fame 
could so arouse the universal sympathy of our people 
as does this simple memorial of her devotion to him 
and of her reverence for his memory. 

The volume now submitted to the public contains 
several of the addresses made by Governor Perry 
on various occasions ; sketches of public men ; and 
some other papers from different sources, showing the 
estimation in which he was held by his fellow-citi- 
zens. Of the sketches, some have been published in 
local newspapers, while others have never been in 
print. It is deemed advisable that these writings of 
Governor Perry, which will make a valuable con- 
tribution to the history of our times, should be put 
in some permanent and enduring form, so as to be 
accessible to all, and when they can instruct and 
benefit those to whom the destiny of our State will 
be committed in the future. The friends of Gover- 
nor Perry, amongst whom the whole people of his 
native State are included, will be pleased to see his 



INTRODUCTION. 



literary work rescued from oblivion, and preserved 
in a shape worthy of its author. 

Every line that he wrote, every word that he 
uttered on public affairs were inspired by an ardent 
patriotic desire to promote the best interests of his 
State, and in the light of the great events which 
have transpired in the last quarter of a century, many 
of his utterances have proved as pregnant with wis- 
dom as with patriotism. It is proper, therefore, that 
these utterances of his should be placed within the 
reach of the young men of our State, for they came 
from a man whose highest ambition was to do his 
duty, and to serve his people. Than this there can 
be no nobler ambition, no higher incentive to human 
conduct. During his long, eventful and honorable 
career, he followed with unshaken constancy his con- 
victions of duty, and neither the applause of the 
people, nor their censure, ever diverted him from the 
path pointed out by his judgment and his con- 
science He always sought earnestly that which was 
right, and when he conceived that he had found it, 
he pursued it with undeviating resolution, regardless 
of all personal considerations. No allurements of 
political power could tempt him to forsake his prin- 
ciples or to soil his conscience. No threats of polit- 
ical ostracism could daunt him. Of him it might 
well have been said, what Henry Clay once de- 
clared, "That he would rather be right than be 
President." The example of such a life as Governor 
Perry's, so pure, so unsullied in all its private and public 
relations, cannot fail to exert a wholesome and elevating 
influence wherever it is known, and in this view the 
following volume possesses great intrinsic value, for 
it gives the opinions, the feeling, the very thoughts 
of the writer, expressed with perfect frankness and 
with commendable impartiality. 




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AN OUTLINE OF 

GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 



BY A. B. WILLIAMS. 



Benjamin Franklin Perry was born November 20th, 
1805, in what is now Oconee county, but was then part 
of Pendleton district. He was of Revolutionary stock, 
his father being a native of Massachusetts of English 
descent, who fought in the Continental armv, and his 
mother, Miss Foster, a daughter of John Foster, of 
Virginia, who was a lieutenant in the regular American 
army. He and Commodore Oliver Perry were of com- 
mon ancestry, springing from the same English stock. 

Governor Perry's father came from Charleston, 
whither he went in 1784, met his wife in Greenville, 
and was married there. He removed to Oconee and en- 
gaged in farming. B. F. Perry worked on his father's 
farm and went to school until he was sixteen, when he 
was sent to Asheville, N. C, where he studied lan- 
guages, making astonishing progress by the great capa- 
city for labor, and the retentive memory developed even 
at that early age. He learnt the Latin grammar in one 
week. While at Asheville, when only sixteen, he wrote 
and published an article advocating the claims of Mr. 
Calhoun for the Presidency, thus early showing the 
interest he felt in his country's welfare. Mr. Calhoun 
at that time was opposed to State Rights. 

He came to Greenville, then a small backwoods vil- 
lage, in 1824, and began the study of law in the office 
of Judge Earle. At the age of nineteen he was chosen 
to deliver an oration on the 4th of July, at Greenville. 

In 1827 he was admitted to the bar, having finished 



2 GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 

his course under Colonel James Gregg, of Columbia. 
He returned to Greenville and began the practice of law 
for the western circuit. 

In 1832 he first became conspicuous in politics, and 
appeared as a leader in the fight for the preservation of 
the Union that he continued to wage twenty-eight years 
against the overwhelming sentiment of the State. He 
became the editor of the Mountaineer and quickly made 
it the recognized organ of the union party of the State. 
Immense majorities of the people were against him, led 
by almost all the talent, learning, and social and political 
power, with John C. Calhoun, the idol of the State, at 
their head promulgating his theories of nullification 
and finding almost unanimous endorsement. Governor 
Perry was a delegate to the union convention held at 
Columbia in 1832, and represented that county, being 
elected at the head of the ticket, in the general convention 
of the people of the State called in the fall of the same 
year. 

It was during this period that the famous duel with 
Bynum occurred. It was caused by a political quarrel, 
and with the spirit and the code of morals of the time it 
could not be avoided. Governor Perry rarely alluded 
to it afterward, and then always with sorrow, but it is 
understood that the quarrel was accepted by him as a 
deliberate test of his courage intended to destroy his 
influence if he failed to endure it successfully. All 
accounts agree that he bore himself with good temper, 
unfaltering courage and dignity, and that while he 
deplored the unfortunate result to the end of his life, 
and from that time persistently refused to engage in 
aifairs of honor, he could justly be held blameless. 

In 1834 Governor Perry, then twenty-nine years old, 
was the union nominee for congress in this district, then 
Mr. Calhoun's, against Warren R. Davis, and was 
defeated by a majority of 60 in a poll of 7,000. Mr. 
Davis dying before he could take his seat, Governor 
Perry again became the candidate of his party against 



GOVERNOR PERRY S LIFE. 3 

General Thompson, but was disabled by an accident 
early in the canvass, and again suffered defeat. In 1836 
he was elected to the State legislature without opposition. 
There he maintained and was the leading exponent of 
the principles he had always held. He opposed the agi- 
tation of the slavery question, and was a warm and con- 
spicuous advocate of the Louisville and Cincinnati rail- 
road. He was re-elected in 1838, and as chairman of 
the committee on claims became noted for his ceaseless 
guardianship of the State's interests and his unrelenting 
hostility to all that was tainted with extravagance or 
subject to suspicion. On the floor he was the leader of 
the element that persistently demanded and fought for 
changes in the system of State government and the 
increase of the power of the people. All prisoners were 
then confined in the county jails, the governor and presi- 
dential electors were chosen by the legislature, and by 
the parish system the lower part of the State was given 
what Governor Perry and those who followed him 
believed to be undue representation in the senate. 
Against all these things he fought, urging the estab- 
lishment of a penitentiary, the choice of governor and 
electors by popular vote, and the equalization of the 
representation of the up country and low country. He 
was almost invariably defeated in the legislature, but re- 
tained the confidence and support of the people he repre- 
sented. 

In 1844 he was elected to the State senate, and while 
a member of that body voted alone against the resolution 
ordering the expulsion from the State of Mr. Hoar, who 
was sent here by the State of Massachusetts. Every 
other senator voted for it, but Governor Perry spoke 
energetically against it, and had his solitary vote 
recorded on the negative side, declaring that hostile 
majorities had no terrors for him while he was con- 
scientiously performing his duty. He was defeated by 
Governor Orr in another contest for congress, the stand 
of the latter in favor of General Taylor securing for him 



4 GOVERNOR PERRY S LIFE. 

the whig vote in addition to the part of the democratic 
vote he commanded. Governor Perry was chosen by 
the legislature an elector at large for this State to vote 
for Cass for president. He was one of the fathers of 
the Greenville and Columbia railroad, and his powerful 
influence and untiring energy contributed much to its 
successful building. 

In 1850, the secession and disunion feeling rose so 
high in South Carolina that it was said the State was a 
unit in breaking up the government and forming a new 
Confederacy. Governor Perry, however, remained 
" faithful amongst the faithless," and boldly proclaimed 
his opposition to secession and disunion, as destructive of 
liberty and the very institutions of the South for the pre- 
servation of which the Union was to be dissolved. He 
suggested the propriety of establishing a Union paper at 
Greenville after every newspaper in the State had gone 
over to secession and espoused the cause of disunion. 
He thought it would be a rallying point for the dis- 
membered and broken Union party throughout the State, 
and perhaps be the means of checking disunion. Some 
of his personal friends came to him and said if he perse- 
vered in establishing his newspaper, neither his life nor 
his property would be safe. His reply deseives being 
repeated. He said : " I will go on with the paper if it 
sinks my fortune and sacrifices my life!" The 
crowning glory of Governor Perry's life is the more 
than Roman courage with which he took this position. 
No one living out of the State can adequately appre- 
ciate the terrific excitement of the people at this dan- 
gerous crisis. Governor Perry boldly assumed the 
editorial department of the paper. The difficult and 
dangerous path which was before him he trod with 
courage, patriotism, wisdom and high courtesy, which 
have won the respect and admiration of even his oppo- 
nents. 

He was again elected to the legislature and he and his 
two colleagues from this county were the only union 



GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 5 

men in the body, this being the one county that stood 
for that side. In the house Governor Perry delivered a 
ringing, bold speech, defending the Union and de- 
nouncing the efforts to break it, and declared that he 
intended to have that speech printed and published and 
handed down as a legacy to his country and his children 
— a promise which he faithfully kept. It was the first 
check the secession movement received in this State at 
that time, and was copied and quoted from one end of the 
country to the other. He was a member of the State 
convention in 1851, and as a member of the committee 
of twenty-one appointed to prepare business, prepared 
and submitted an able minority report dissenting from 
the resolutions prepared and presented by Judge Cheves, 
which defended the right of secession but declined to 
use it at that time. 

In 18b'0 Governor Perry was one of the delegates from 
this State to the famous Charleston convention of the 
democratic party. He refused to withdraw with the 
other delegates from this State and remained, voting 
steadily for R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, as the can- 
didate of the party for president. 

The galleries hissed him every time he rose to vote, 
and when he rose to speak the hissing became so loud 
and continuous that he could with difficulty proceed. 
The chairman, Mr. Gushing, threatened to clear the 
galleries, but the man who had faced and defied angry 
multitudes and put his life and property in jeopardy a 
score of times was not the one to be frightened by such 
demonstrations. " Let them remain, Mr. Chairman," 
he said in the deep, strong tones and deliberate manner 
always characteristic of him, " I would like them to 
hear what I have to say." And they did hear him 
while he spoke with all his power for the unity of the 
great democratic party, and declared that on its success 
depended the life of the Union. As is well remem- 
bered, his urging was of no avail. The party split and 
nominated two candidates, and Abraham Lincoln was 
elected. 



t> GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 

In 1860 an election was ordered for a convention of 
the people of South Carolina to declare the Union dis- 
solved. Governor Perry fought secession then as he 
had fought it and nullification before. He predicted 
the war and the defeat of the South, and urged that it 
was folly to secede with a democratic majority in con- 
gress, in the supreme court and in the country. But 
the wave overpowered him. He went down flying his 
colors to the last and raising his voice for the Union. 
Greenville county was carried along in the rush, and 
B. F. Perry, James P. Boyce and Chief Justice O'Neall, 
the union candidates for the convention, were defeated, 
Governor Perry being beaten in his own county the first 
time in thirty years. But when the secession ordinance 
was adopted he yielded to the will of the majority 
and went with his State. " You are all going to the 
devil and I will go with you," was his good-humored 
announcement of his purpose. From that time he was 
unswerving in his loyalty to the Confederacy. Being 
then fifty-six years old he could not enter active service 
himself, but his eldest son was sent to the front, and 
Governor Perry supported the government with voice,, 
service and purse. During the war he served as mem- 
ber of the legislature, Confederate commissioner, district 
attorney and district judge. 

In the misfortunes brought on by disregard of his 
advice Governor Perry shared with his people. He stood 
by them with conspicuous firmness and boldness in the 
dark hours after the war. He was not only with the 
people, but felt with them, and some of his speeches of 
that time gave evidence of the bitterness that was then 
over the spirit of the South. But without the solicita- 
tion of himself or his friends he was chosen by Presi- 
dent Johnson the provisional governor of the State. 
The appointment was received with universal satisfac- 
tion. Governor Perry's consistent record as a union man 
won for him the good will of the North, and he already 
possessed the full confidence of the people of this State. 



GOVERNOR PERRY S LIFE. 7 

His strength of character and intellect, and cool, sound 
judgment fitted him well to guide the State through 
that stormy time. Quiet dignity and the purpose to 
restore the State to peace and prosperity marked his 
conduct during his administration of six months. He 
ignored all party claims and alliances, appointed to fill 
the offices those persons who had occupied them at the 
close of the war, obtained an order abolishing the mili- 
tary tribunals that had been trying civil and criminal 
cases, so far as white persons were concerned, and re- 
stored the confidence of the people by refusing to levy 
or collect taxes, aud using the pardoning power liberally. 
Under his government the first election after the war 
was held, resulting in the choice of the Hon. J. L. Orr. 
Meantime Governor Perry had labored actively in behalf 
of the State with the Federal administration, and suc- 
ceeded in making an impression on the president and Sec- 
retary Seward, which doubtless did much to mitigate the 
rigor of her treatment. The legislature elected and in 
session during Governor Perry's term did much of the 
work he had given his energies to against such opposing 
odds during many years. The parish system he had 
fought so hard was abolished, the right of electing gover- 
nor and presidential electors was given to the people, the 
penitentiary was established, and the courts of law aud 
equity were amalgamated, and the State was separated 
from all connection with banks. 

At the expiration of his service as governor he re- 
turned to Greenville, but he continued his active interest 
in public affairs, and his efforts to improve the condition 
of his State and people. He was elected to the United 
States senate, but, like the other southern senators, was 
denied the seat. His faithful and heroic stand for the 
Union, made at far greater sacrifice and against worse 
odds and more danger than any man then on the floor of 
the senate had endured, was forgot or disregarded. Men 
who had been disunionists while he was facing furious 
mobs and enduring banishment from honors and almost 



8 GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 

from friendships, and holding his faith in and love for 
the Union solitary in a crowd of angered opponents, 
voted to shut him out of the senate chamber because he 
refused to desert his people in the humiliation and deso- 
lation he foresaw coming on them. He was a bitter 
opponent of the reconstruction measures, and wrote and 
spoke strongly to prove that the people would be better 
under an indefinite military rule than under negro and 
carpet-bagger government — a conclusion which all the 
white people had reached by 1876, when their cam- 
paign cry was " Hampton or a military governor ! " 

In 1867 he was a delegate to the Philadelphia conven- 
tion. In 1868 he represented the State in the national 
democratic convention that nominated Seymour and 
Blair. The people of his State — as if eager to atone for 
the injustice of the past aud to express their confidence 
and affection and their appreciation of the vindication of 
his wisdom brought by time and events — continued to 
heap honors on him. The democratic convention of the 
Fourth congressional district, then composed of York, 
Chester, Fairfield, Union, Spartanburg, Laurens, Green- 
ville, Pickens and Oconee counties, met at Columbia in 
September, 1872, and unanimously tendered him the 
nomination for the Federal house of representatives. 
The nomination was unanimously endorsed by the press 
and people of the State, and Governor Perry accepted 
the leadership of the forlorn hope as he accepted every 
dutv and made a thorough canvass of the large district. 
His fate was that of all other democratic candidates of 
the time, but his indomitable spirit was not broken by 
defeat, and immediately after the election he published 
an address to the voters urging them to oppose the 
radical government and to continue to fight it, and 
denouncing the corruption of the party in power in good 
round English terms, not forgetting to upbraid the 
white people for the apathy and timidity they were 
showing. His last prominent public service was in 
1876, when, at the age of seventy-one, he went as one of 



GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 9 

the South Carolina delegation to the St. Louis conven- 
tion by which Tilden and Hendricks were nominated. 

Governor Perry's political career is that most known 
and interesting to the public, but through long years it 
was a succession of apparent failures. In the practice 
of his profession in which he was matched against single 
antagonists and not against a legion of politicians and 
orators and angry multitudes of people, he was uniformly 
successful. He took a high place at the bar early in 
life and retained it to the end, winning honor and 
money. His practice was always marked by conscien- 
tious ofevotion to his cause, careful study and strong, 
logical handling. He was always a dignified and 
courteous lawyer, giving others all the respect they 
merited and rigidly exacting like treatment, conforming 
his conduct to the highest standards of professional 
ethics. He was employed by General Thompson in 1851 
to assist in the defence of Dr. Gardiner, indicted in the 
District of Columbia for perjury in presenting false 
claims against the Mexican Government. It was a 
famous case of the time and offered fees then considered 
immense. But Governor Perry, after spending several 
weeks investigating the case, became convinced of 
Gardiner's guilt and promptly returned home. When 
he became convinced that the judiciary of this State was 
corrupt he retired almost entirely from active practice 
and sought the retirement of his farm " Sans Souci " 
near Greenville city, where he has lived since and where 
he died. 

Governor Perry during his life had many friends 
and many enemies. He was not an effusive man and 
made little display of his friendships, but they were 
valuable and enduring. He was " a plain, blunt man," 
and when he disliked or distrusted made no secret of it. 
Stubborn in his opinions, he was always willing to 
concede honesty to his opponents, and to give courtesy 
while it was appreciated and reciprocated. His fighting 
was all done fairly and openly. Of scrupulous integrity 



10 GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. 

and with unspotted purity of character, he hated rascal- 
ity and meanness or anything he took for it with an 
unrelenting hatred, and was always ready to lead war- 
fare against it. He did not often win friends ; he 
commanded them by the force of his character and 
his unswerving loyalty. 

He married in 1837, in the city of Charleston, Miss 
Elizabeth F. McCall, daughter of Hext McCall and a 
niece of Robert Y. Hayne. They had seven;' children, 
of whom four survive — Mrs. Wm. Beattie, Representa- 
tive W. H. Perry, Dr. Hext M. Perry, of Philadelphia, 
and B. F. Perry, Jr. Mrs. Perry survives the Governor ; 
on her, more especially, his death comes with fearful 
force, and while the sympathy of hundreds of friends 
throughout the country are with the entire family, a 
special measure of it will be for her who has so many 
years illustrated the devotion and love of which woman 
i^ capable as wife and mother. 

Governor Perry was a man of pure life, simple tastes, 
and temperate habits. During the last ten years most 
of his time has been spent at his place in the country, 
where he had built one, of the handsomest residences in 
the State. He usually drove into town in his carriage, 
received his mail, remained in the office of his law firm, 
composed of himself, W. H. Perry and Julius H. Hey- 
ward, a few hours in the forenoon, and returned to his 
home. There he had one of the most complete libraries 
in the country, covering the whole range of literature, 
and he devoted himself to making new literary acquaint- 
ances and renewing old ones. He was an eager buyer 
and reader of new books, and a prolific writer for the 
press, although he rarely appeared in print during the 
last years of his life except when his interest was espe- 
cially aroused in some matter of local or general moment. 
At one time he prepared and published in newspapers a 
series of historical sketches of this section of the State, 
and reminiscences of the many distinguished men he had 
known and been associated with. Some of these have 






GOVERNOR PERRY'S LIFE. II 

been compiled and printed in book form by Dr. Hext 
M. Perry, preceded by a brief biography of the Gov- 
ernor, making a volume of much interest. Governor 
Perry left doubtless material for many other volumes of 
historical interest, including newspaper files, unpublished 
sketches and memoirs, a carefully kept diary of his life, 
and many of his speeches and more important published 
articles. 

He was not a communicant, but was a zealous friend 
and supporter of Christ Episcopal Church, where his 
family attended. During all his life he gave much at- 
tention to religion, and his conduct was conformed to the 
teachings of Christianity in which he was a sincere and 
earnest believer. 

The last years of his life were very tranquil and happy 
in the society of his family, the friends he delighted to 
welcome to the hospitable halls of Sans Souci, his books 
and his writings, peacefully busy, with few cares, and 
an honest record and useful life to look back on, only 
awaiting the summons he knew must soon come. 



EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 



One of the biggest and strongest men this country 
has known died here yesterday.* He was cast in a 
big mould, morally, intellectually and physically, and 
Nature in her mysterious operations for the destruction 
of her work seems to have designed an appropriate 
ending. There was none of the pitiful weakness of 
decay. The years brought no childish treble to the big 
strong voice, no dullness of perception or senile feeble- 
ness to the active, vigorous mind. Like an old oak tree 
struck by the axe he fell while yet strong and towering, 
and died with the honors, years and compensations of 
age before the calamities of age had come upon him. 

Governor Perry was sometimes spoken of by his 
admirers as " the old Roman," and surely he deserved 
the title by virtue of the qualities ascribed to the 
Romans in the best days of the republic, when Romans 
were as brothers and all were for the State. Courage, 
tenacity of purpose, force of character and rigid adher- 
ence to principle marked his course through all the 
years of his manhood. As the youth began the old man 
ended. The path of his duty and his conscience led 
straight across the popular way. But the fury of the 
people, the seductions of friends, the promises of ambi- 
tion, the overwhelming power of opponents combined 
against him failed to cause the swerving of a step. He 
could not see the end or know where the road he trod 
would lead him ; disaster after disaster fell upon him, 
until the limits of his county seemed to be the impene- 

* December 3, 1886. 
13 



14 EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 

trable boundary of his aspirations. The only effect of 
it all was to nerve and urge him to stronger and bolder 
labors for the cause he believed to be right. 

Years and events approved his judgment and his 
principles, but they were not needed to win him honor. 
His thirty years of hopeless fighting was honor and tri- 
umph enough, because it was evidence that could not be 
questioned that he believed in his cause, and had in him 
the manhood, strength and devotion that constitute 
heroism. 

Whether measured by the invisible standard of the 
soul, felt but not definable in words or to be expressed by 
figures, or by the baser measurement of utility, Governor 
Perry's life is worthy of study and emulation. There 
is a tremendous elation and power, and a splendor more 
felt by the heart than any discernible to the senses in 
the feeling of a man that he is right — right beyond 
doubt — and that he is maintaining the right against 
odds, and will be proved right in the end. It is worth 
all the labor and sacrifice of a life. 

And if life holds, time will bring the reward for the 
man who cleaves his way right onward, undismayed and 
unallured. The coward who truckles to place and 
powers, the shuffler who crooks the hinges of his knee 
and climbs by devious courses, must go down and be 
lost with the long procession of their like. But the 
man who clings to his sound principles and fears nobody 
and nothing, will be remembered and honored — after he 
is dead sometimes, but always sooner or later. 

Read the story of Governor Perry's life as it is briefly 
and imperfectly told to-day. Read it and remember it. 

He was a man — the thing that only God can make, 
and the only thing He has made in His likeness — a 
manly man, with manly virtues, holding and proving 
his manhood, and never dishonoring it, and therein the 
most splendid of the creations of Omnipotence, and 
very worthy to be honored. 



EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 15 

That can be said of him with truth. What more or 
what better need be or could be said of any man ? — 
Greenville Daily Neivs. 

Governor Perry was a grand figure in South Carolina 
affairs, a Romanesque rock standing out boldly in the 
midst of the troubled sea of politics, and unmoved by 
dashing waves or pelting storm. Unquestionably he 
was the head and front and chieftain of the union senti- 
ment in Soutli Carolina. In the union cause he fleshed 
his sword more than fifty years ago. 

There was hot work in South Carolina in those old 
days. In 1832, in his lusty youth, Governor Perry 
fought Mr. Bynum, the editor of the Greenville Sentinel, 
and wounded him mortally at the first shot on the field. 
After this he declined to accept any challenge. The first 
and fatal meeting was more than enough. 

Governor Perry opposed secession, first and last and 
all the while. But, honest Carolinian as he was, he 
was with his people, heart and soul, when the die was 
cast, and South Carolina had withdrawn from the sister- 
hood of States. It was not for him to reason why. 
South Carolina had taken her course, and, as a loyal 
son, he went with South Carolina, and exerted himself 
to the utmost to strengthen her endeavor. 

Some measure of reward came to him when the strug- 
gle was over, as by reason of his noble record he was 
appointed governor of the State. Superbly he dis- 
charged the difficult duties that were imposed upon him 
in that time of transition and re-adjustment. Afterward 
he came rarely before the public, but from his eyrie on 
the slopes of the Blue Ridge he watched the course or 
events, and was ready always to give to his people the 
benefit of his ripe and varied observation and profound 
knowledge of men and affairs. 

Statesman, jurist, man of letters and patriot, unflinch- 
ing in his loyalty to these United States, and immov- 
able in his devotion to the Commonwealth of South 



16 EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 

Carolina. Governor Perry was in many respects with- 
out a peer in our public life, and in nothing that was 
worthy and of good report had he any superior. — 
Charleston News and Conner. 

The death of ex-Governor Perry at his home near 
Greenville yesterday afternoon will be received with 
deep regret in all parts of the State. * * * * The 
deceased was a remarkable man from many points of 
view. For many years the consistent, outspoken, 
courageous defender of Union doctrines in opposition 
to all the declared principles of his native State, he never 
flinched from the advocacy of his opinions whatever the 
majority against him. He was opposed to secession 
from first to last, but when his State acted he surren- 
dered his life-long convictions to her commands. We 
sincerely believe that there was no more conscientious 
and patriotic citizen in all the State than he who now 
has been gathered to the fold of Carolina's great sons as 
they sleep beneath her soil. 

The deceased for many years represented the district 
of Greenville in the State assembly, and he was always 
recognized as a most conspicuous member. His opinions 
were always earnestly and frankly expressed. He took 
a bold stand on every public measure, and squarely toed 
the mark in every position of his long life. 

Such was the declared character of the man in all 
things that he was highly respected by those who op- 
posed his views no less than by those who followed his 
lead. 

This distinguished Carolinian was selected by Presi- 
dent Andrew Johnson, from not a few eminent union- 
ists in South Carolina, to fill the important trust of pro- 
visional governor on the termination of the war in 1865. 
As provisional governor, Governor Perry earnestly advo- 
cated a policy of magnanimous peace. He had no pa- 
tience with the policy of persecution and revenge. He 
did all he possibly could to shield his distressed fellow- 



EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 17 

citizens from the savage policy of hate which then surged 
up against our devoted State as " the cause of the war. " 
He stood by his State as faithfully in the dire moment 
of her downfall as he had manfully resisted the temper 
and policies which had led up to the war. He was too 
brave a man himself to have lot or parcel with those 
who were willing to strike the downfallen. 

Ex-Governor Perry's memory, then, will long be 
cherished by all who love and admire true manhood in 
its highest sense, whether it be in friend or foe. And 
Greenville will lovingly cherish the memory of her 
great son as one of the most remarkable men the State 
has ever given birth to. 

The father of an honored family, among whom is the 
representative in congress from this district, the Hon. 
Win. Perry, the deceased goes to rest without an enemy 
in the State, though it was so long opposed to his polit- 
ical opinions. Let him sleep, then, in the bosom of his 
mother State as no unhonored son among those who 
illustrated her name with a virtue, courage and unblem- 
ished repute, which shall teach generation after genera- 
tion of her sons how it is to live like a Carolinian, and 
how it is to die as such, without fear and without 
reproach . — Columbia Register. 

He was a remarkable man in many respects. He 
was distinguished for the great purity of his character, 
his profound knowledge of law, his undying devotion to 
principle, and for a studiousness that remained with 
him to the day of his death. 

In his death the State and Union have lost a citizen 
of which each might justly feel great pride. The peo- 
ple of Greenville almost idolized him, and he has con- 
trolled their public sentiment for more than half a cent- 
ury, and there is no one of equal character and abilities 
to take his place. 

Whatever position in life Governor Perry was called 
on to fill, whether member of the legislature, member of 



18 EDITORIAL COMMENTS. 

a State -convention, commissioner, district attorney, dis- 
trict judge of the Southern Confederacy, provisional 
governor of the State, delegate to conventions of the 
democratic party, legal counsellor or citizen, he never 
failed to discharge his duties with a rigid fidelity and 
great ability that commanded the esteem of every one. 
His name was a synonym of uprightness, integrity and 
bold performance of duty. He had contempt for mean 
actions and duplicity in men, and was severe in condem- 
nation of them. 

He was one of nature's noblemen, in physical stature 
and features, as well as in mind and heart. 

It is sad indeed to know that his familiar face and 
noble form have passed from our midst forever, and 
that we will see him no more. — Greenville Enterprise 
and Mountaineer. 



ACTION OF THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



The State Senate was not in session on Saturday, Decem- 
ber 4th, when the announcement of Governor Perry's death 
was made. 

In the House Mr. Ansel, of Greenville, said : 

Me. Speaker: — Upon the wings of the lightning the 
sad intelligence has just been received that the late dis- 
tinguished and highly esteemed Benjamin Franklin 
Perry, of Greenville, is no more. He has gone to that 
bourne from whence no traveler returns. Being more 
than four score years of age, and having been for a 
great many years in public life in this State and the 
Nation, I think it but due to the memory of this great 
and good man that we should pause in our deliberations 
for a short while to pay our respects to his many 
virtues. 

He was for more than twenty years during the early 
and middle part of his life a distinguished member and 
leader of the house of representatives of this State, and 
his course while a member of this honorable body has 
been the admiration and praise of all. One of the 
many acts which he did as a member of that body was 
the selection of the place where the capitol building 
now stands. 

Since that time he has held many honorable positions 
given him by the people of his native State. Once he 
held the office of judge, once elected United States sen- 
19 



20 ACTION OF THE 

ator from the State of South Carolina, and once the 
Governor of this grand old Commonwealth of ours ; 
and though he was not allowed to hold his seat in the 
United States senate by reason of the political sentiment 
prevailing in the North at and after the time of his 
election to this honored position, it shows the high 
esteem in which he was held, and ever has been held, 
by the people of this State and country. 

As governor of the State of South Carolina, his 
every act was for the best interests of his native State, 
and the nature and the ability and integrity which char- 
acterized his administration of that office is part of the 
history of this State, known by all, which will go down 
on its pages to the everlasting glory and honor of his 
name. 

But time forbids, Mr. Speaker, my detailing the many 
virtues and good qualities of this great and good man. 
I could not refrain, however, in this presence from ask- 
ing that the business of this house might stop for a 
short time, in order that we may place one flower upon 
the bier of our departed friend, and, looking at him as 
he shall pass down into the grave and be gathered to his 
fathers, say : " Well done, good and faithful servant.'' 

Mr. Speaker, as a mark of respect to the memory of 
the late Benjamin Franklin Perry, I move you, sir, that 
this house do now adjourn. 

At the conclusion of the remarks of Mr. Ansel, of Green- 
ville, in announcing to the House of Representatives of 
South Carolina the death of the Hon. B. F. Perry, one of 
the ex-governors of this State, and after the reading of the 
resolutions appropriate to the occasion, Mr. Hamilton, of 
Chester, arose and spoke as follows : 

Mr. Speaker: — It is only since taking my seat in this 
House to-day that I have been made aware of the death 
of ex-Governor B. F. Perry, an event, it is true, at 
his advanced age, we have all known could not be Jong 
postponed, but which nevertheless we are permitted to 
deplore as a great public loss. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 21 

It is not necessary, Mr. Speaker, to give any sketch of 
the circumstances of the private life or public career of 
Governor Perry, for by the enterprising forethought of 
the News and Courier in its issue of to-day we are 
furnished with all it is necessary to know on that head. 
I shall therefore confine myself to an allusion to his 
peculiar characteristics which distinguished him from 
the general run of men and lifted him to a place among 
the very few who are possessed of the rare gift of a 
lofty moral courage and a fearless intellectual bravery. 

It has been remarked that there are comparatively 
few men who think for themselves, and more especially 
on public affairs, and whose utterances make up public 
opinion. In large cities it has come to pass that news- 
papers to a great extent do the thinking of the people, 
and in smaller and more remote communities there are 
certain leading minds to which it is given to guide the 
current of opinion. But even with this small class are 
often found those who temporize and often shrink from 
their convictions and abandon opposition in order to sail 
before a popular breeze. Governor Perry was cast in a 
different mould from any such. He thought for him- 
self; he had strong convictions, and he dared always to 
own them in any presence and before any audience. He 
came first into public notice in the memorable nullifica- 
tion contest. The advocates of that extreme remedy for 
our differences with the Federal Government numbered 
in their ranks, as the active leaders, John C. Calhoun, 
Robert Y. Hayne, George McDuffie, James Hamilton 
and Stephen B. Miller — an array of statesmen, orators, 
and men of action unsurpassed in their respective excel- 
lences, and formidable indeed to encounter in opposition. 
It was natural for the young men of South Carolina to 
follow such leaders in a contest, particularly alluring as 
challenging a conflict with the general government, and 
it may safely be said that nine-tenths of them were ral- 
lied under the banner of the nullification party. 



22 ACTION OF THE 

To confront such opponents had no terrors for Benja- 
min F. Perry, a young man only starting forth in life. 
In his newspaper, on the stump, and everywhere, he 
boldly advocated the cause he had espoused, and although 
defeated on that particular issue yet he came out of the 
contest unscathed and unterrified, and by his fearless and 
honorable course gained for himself the honorable ad- 
miration and esteem of the great men whose opinions 
and actions he had combated so manfully. 

It was not unnatural for Union men of the South to 
be earnest for the reconstruction of the States, and there 
were not a few of them caught by the idea of "accept- 
ing the situation" who were hurried into the republican 
party, and too late to retreat were overwhelmed by the 
disgrace and obloquy which attached to the southern 
government of that day. 

Governor Perry was deeply enlisted in the scheme 
proposed by President Johnson to reconstruct the State 
of South Carolina and the other Southern States, but 
upon the passage of the reconstruction measures and the 
military usurpation of Sickles and Canby, every instinct 
of his brave nature and his love of civil liberty was 
aroused, and until that invasion of our right finally dis- 
appeared with the inauguration of President Cleveland, 
there was no more hostile opponent of republican men 
and measures than he was. 

Governor Perry's last connection with public aifairs 
was in 1872. A convention assembled in the fall of 
that year in this city, of which I was myself a member ; 
he was unanimously nominated to contest the Fourth 
Congressional District against A. S. Wallace. It was 
hoped by running a pronounced Union man, in addition 
to the democratic majorities in Greenville and Spartan- 
burg, we might supplement them by a majority in 
York and reduction of the republican vote in the other 
counties, and by that means we might elect him. His 
most excellent conservative speeches, however, failed of 
effect, and our relief was postponed for four years more, 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 23 

when the bugle call of Hampton aroused us to action. 
Since then Governor Perry has lived in retirement at 
his country seat near Greenville. 

Mr. Brawley, of Charleston, said: 

Mr. Speaker: — I have been so occupied this morning 
that I did not read the newspaper, and until the gentle- 
man from Greenville addressed the Chair I did not 
know that a great loss had fallen upon the State, for 
although in " the white winter of his age," and for some 
time withdrawn from active participation in public 
affairs, the death of Governor Perry will be felt every- 
where throughout the State as a public calamity. 

I regret very much, Mr. Speaker, that I have not the 
gift of speaking aptly upon occasions like this without 
preparation, and that I have not had time to prepare 
such fit words as are due to the memory of this distin- 
guished citizen. I regret it all the more because I repre- 
sent here a constituency which in times past was not in 
accord with those ideas and principles of which Gover- 
nor Perry was one of the most conspicuous advocates, 
and yet I feel that I would not truly represent that con- 
stituency if I failed to express upon this mournful occa- 
sion the sentiment of profound respect for his character 
and memory there entertained, and, therefore, I must 
add my voice to the general lamentation and pay tribute 
to his memory. 

It is not to be expected that upon this sudden call I 
can do justice to a character which had many elements 
of greatness, and it would not accord with the " fitness 
of things " that I should indulge in indiscriminating 
eulogy. I cannot speak of him from much personal 
knowledge, as I saw him mainly from a distance, but I 
always admired that rugged independence of character 
and opinions which lifted him above the lead of com- 
mon men as distinctly as do the mountains, near which 
he dwelt, stand out from the plain. 



24 ACTION OF THE 

He was a man of strong individuality, and probably 
of strong dislikes, but he was likewise a man of strong 
and earnest patriotism, and although his State was led 
into courses against his wishes and judgment, he never 
wavered in his devotion to her. 

He was in the highest sense of the word a patriot, and, 
therefore, it is most fitting that we, who are for the time 
being the representatives of the State which he loved and 
served during a long and useful life, should pause in our 
work here and pay respect to his memory. The name 
and fame of such a man is a precious heritage, and we 
should so testify. 

He lived in a time of great events and was a conspic- 
uous actor in them. Called to high station in a time of 
great adversity he bore himself with dignity, and then 
and ever he was true and steadfast as those mountains 
beneath the shadow of which he now rests. His fame, 
like them, is fixed in the earnest stillness of eternity. 

Mr. Haskell, of Richland, said : 

Mr. Speaker: — I regret that the first news that I have 
of Governor Perry's death is the resolution which I ask 
to second, for I feel that I can, unprepared as I am, but 
ill express the feelings of my constituents, or my own. 
Yet I would ill represent my constituents if I failed to 
join as best I can in the expressions of sympathy for the 
family of Governor Perry, and of praise for the service 
which he has done by his pure life and earnest work for 
the State he has served so long and so well. It has been 
truly said by those who have preceded me that Governor 
Perry throughout his life displayed always an utter fear- 
lessness in opposing the will of majorities, no matter how 
great, when his judgment did not approve, and this most 
notably in the almost unaided opposition which for many 
years he offered to those who advocated a disruption of 
the Union. 

All they have said is true, but it seems to me that 
higher praise than this is due to this distinguished citizen. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 25 

Any one can oppose, but it is of few, even in history., 
that it can be said that they openly, constantly and defi- 
antly opposed the enthusiastic will of a great majority of 
their fellow-citizens without ever losing at any time their 
respect and confidence. Yet none will deny that this 
can be truly said of him who we now seek to honor. 
To oppose secession, either alone or with the other slave- 
holding States, was in South Carolina regarded as unpa- 
triotic, if not traitorous ; and yet Governor Perry, an 
avowed Union man under all circumstances, had .the 
warm esteem of those who knew him, and the confidence 
of the people at large who knew him by his acts and 
reputation. 

When finally the war against which he had struggled 
came upon us, there was no citizen of the State more 
earnest in his efforts to bring it to a successful issue and 
none who more willingly contributed to its prosecution. 
This caused no surprise, for his whole life had made the 
people of this State expect nothing less from him under 
all circumstances than the fullest performance of every 
duty of a patriotic citizen. 

Governor Perry impressed his views and policy upon 
what is now the most prosperous section of this State to 
an extent that would have marked him as an extraordi- 
nary man had he performed nothing else. Here in the 
capital of the State, he was chiefly known before the war 
as the Unionist opposing what nearly all our people be- 
lieved to be the best interests of the State. They next 
knew him as the reconstruction governor appointed by 
the president of the United States, who the people still 
regarded as our bitter enemy. 

In this office we quickly learned to know him as one 
who took office only that he might serve his State 
without a thought of self-glorification or personal repu- 
tation or profit, and the city of Columbia and Richland 
county joins with her whole heart in seconding the reso- 
lution in honor of him who as a citizen was upright and 
patriotic ; as a statesman, wise to foresee danger, earnest 



26 ACTION OF THE HOUSE. 

in his effort to avert it, brave and constant in resisting 
it when it came, and when it culminated in disaster, un- 
tiring and undismayed in earnestly striving by precept 
and example to repair the ruin and bring back prosperity 
to his State, to which the best efforts of his long and 
active life were devoted. 

After remarks by Colonel John C. Haskell, of Richland, 
on motion of Mr. Ansel, seconded by Mr. Simpson, of Lau- 
rens, the house adjourned in respect to Governor Perry's 
memory. 



PROCEEDINGS OF 
THE GREENVILLE BAR. 



On the 11th of December, 1886, there was a called meeting 
of the bar of Greenville, at which almost every member 
was present. 

Colonel G. F. Townes was elected chairman and D. P. 
Verner secretary. 

In taking the chair Colonel Townes announced the pur- 
pose of the meeting is to consider the action to be taken 
regarding the death of the leader of the bar, the late Gov- 
ernor B. F. Perry. He said : 

Gentlemen of the Greenville Bar: — To ren- 
der due tribute to departed friends, and to express 
sorrow for their loss, is an instinct of our common 
humanity, stirring the most pathetic emotions of the 
heart. But when one of eminent merit, especially iden- 
tified with a professional circle, is removed by death, 
the surviving members feel the loss most deeply, and 
are fond to recall the remembrance of the noble qualities 
and honorable career of the distinguished dead, and to 
give some utterance to the sentiments such remembrance 
inspires. The death of ex-Governor Benjamin Frank- 
lin Perry is, to us, an event sorrowful indeed and most 
profoundly regretted. We greatly esteemed him for 
his virtues. His was a life unstained by intemperance, 
uncontaminated by licentiousness. We admired his 
high character, conspicuous for ability and integrity, 
not only as a lawyer, but as a man, a citizen, public 
servant, and true patriot. His memory will last. The 
influence of his example, the good he has done, is not 
"interred with his bones." He never swerved from 
what he believed to be the right. Even when in a minor- 
ity, breasting the storms of political strife, earning a 
27 



28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

national as well as a State reputation, he so bore himself 
that his opponents respected him, and every one, even 
those with whom political questions had produced 
quarrels or estrangement, when the calm came were 
again his personal friends and admirers. He recipro- 
cated their feelings and met them more than half way. 
As age advanced, he gathered more and more troops of 
friends, and has died without an enemy in either of the 
old political parties, now happily merged in one. 

Governor Perry was faithful as a friend, and a de- 
lightful companion. He excelled in entertaining con- 
versation. He possessed an extensive knowledge of 
history, European and American. I have never met 
any one who appeared to me so familiar with the char- 
acters and incidents connected with the lives of the 
remarkable personages who have lived in the past and 
present century, especially those of his own country and 
the British Kingdom. His memory was a very ency- 
clopedia of the events and prominent men belonging to 
the history of his own State, from the earliest colonial 
times to the present. He was my senior at the bar, but 
I stood next to him. He was my oldest associate and 
friend. I shall miss him more than I can express. 
Indeed, we may all say in regard to him, as Henry 
Clay said in his noble tribute to Calhoun, uttered in the 
United States senate chamber : " Who can fill the great 
void his death has left us?" 

On motion of Colonel J. W. Stokes, a committee of three 
was appointed to draw and present suitable resolutions. 
The committee consisted of Colouel Stokes, T. Q,. Donald- 
son and Captain C. M. Furman. The members retired and 
subsequently returned and presented the following : 

" Whereas, it has pleased God in His infinite wis- 
dom to call from time to eternity, full of years and 
honors, the distinguished and honored leader of the 
Greenville bar, Governor Benjamin Franklin Perry, 
who for a period of half a century or more illustrated in 



GREENVILLE BAR. 29 

an eminent degree the ability, dignity and courtesy of 
the profession ; and whereas we desire to place upon 
record our high appreciation and admiration of his noble 
qualities of head and heart as exhibited in all the rela- 
tions of life — domestic, civil, political and professional; 
therefore, 

"Resolved, That in the death of Governor Benjamin 
Franklin Perry, his family have lost a devoted and 
indulgent husband and father ; the community a useful, 
valued and eminent citizen; the State a wise, patriotic 
and incorruptible public servant, and the bar a learned, 
able and fearless advocate, who by his integrity and 
great ability justly occupied a commanding position 
among the most distinguished lawyers of the State. 

" Resolved, That this bar deeply sympathize and 
sincerelv condole with the family of the distinguished 
deceased in their sad bereavement and great loss. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased the members of this bar will wear the 
usual badge of mourning for thirty days. 

"Resolved, That the chairman of this meeting present 
the preamble and these resolutions to the presiding 
judge at the next term of the circuit court for Green- 
ville and request him to have them recorded upon the 
journal of the court. 

"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans- 
mitted by the secretary of this meeting to the family of 
the deceased, and that the city newspapers be requested 
to publish them." 

Mr. T. Q. Donaldson said : 

Mr. Chairman : — I rise to second the resolutions just 
offered, and in doing so, I confess to some degree of 
embarrassment, not so much for want of something to 
say as to decide what should be left unsaid in the limited 
time which it would be proper to occupy on an occasion 
like this. 



30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

It lias been but a few short months, Mr. Chairman, 
since the member's of the Greenville bar had occasion to 
come together in their hall to do honor to the memory 
of one of their number who had been stricken down in 
the maturity of manhood. We are now assembled to 
perform a like service to the memory of one who lived 
out the full measure of his days, and who gently sank 
to rest, " Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
about him and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

I knew Governor Perry intimately for a period of 
thirty years ; for the greater portion of this time we 
were near neighbors, residing on opposite sides of the 
street. I had peculiarly favorable opportunities of 
observing him in all the relations of life, to which refer- 
ence has been made in the resolutions, and can say with- 
out mental reservation, and with entire sincerity, that 
all that has been said of him in these resolutions is 
strictly and literally true. He was devotedly attached 
to his home and family, and a kinder and more indul- 
gent husband and father I have never known. He 
greatly enjoyed the society of his friends and neighbors, 
and felt a keen and lively interest in whatever contrib- 
uted to the prosperity and well being of the community 
in which he lived. 

When I first came to Greenville Governor Perry was 
at the zenith of his career as a lawyer, and was engaged 
on one side of every cause of importance which came 
before the courts of the western circuit (as it was then 
known), comprising the counties of Greenville, Spartan- 
burg, Laurens, Anderson and Pickens. He was the 
peer of the ablest lawyers who practised in that circuit, 
which could boast of some of the most eminent men of 
the State. No lawyer ever prepared his cases witli 
more care nor fought them with more ability and per- 
sistence. No client of his ever had just cause to com- 
plain that his case was neglected. His character for 
honesty and integrity and his great ability as a lawyer 
made him almost irresistible before juries, especially of 



GREENVILLE BAR. 31 

Greenville county, with whom his name was a tower of 
strength. 

Governor Perry was remarkable for his industry and 
devotion to his profession, and as a result he always 
enjoyed a lucrative practice. At the same time it may 
be said that he was not a mere attorney, as too many of 
our profession are, but a jurist as well, and thoroughly 
imbued with a knowledge of the law as a science He 
was also fond of reading general literature, and had 
-accumulated, during his long life, one of the largest and 
most select miscellaneous libraries in the State. Gov- 
ernor Perry was one of the comparatively few public 
men of the State who achieved a national reputation, 
•and his name will always be associated with those of her 
most eminent statesmen. His public life was a pecu- 
liarly eventful one. He lived in the most exciting 
[period of the State's history, and was a conspicuous actor 
in all the important political events which agitated the 
country from 1832 on the great issue between the 
State and General Government, which finally resulted 
in civil war. He held views opposed to those of a 
majority of the leading men of the State, and to this fact 
may doubtless be attributed his failure of promotion to 
! high federal position until the latter part of his life. 

No one possessed in a higher degree than Governor 
Perry the courage of his convictions, and no one was 
less deterred from following them when once he had 
determined as to the proper course to pursue, and tie 
had the satisfaction, before his death, of seeing the wis- 
dom of his course with reference to the most vital politi- 
cal issues approved. 

Nature had cast Governor Perry in a large mould 
physically and mentally. No one ever saw him for the 
first time who was not impressed with the fact that he 
was no ordinary man. His life was a success. He 
achieved fame and fortune, and "full of days and hon- 
ors" has been gathered to his Father, leaving to his 
family the priceless heritage of a pure and spotless name, 



32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

and to the members of the bar an example worthy of 
their emulation. 

Mr. John W. Stokes said : 

Me. Chairman: — We are gathered here to-day to 
mingle our voices in honor of the distinguished leader 
of this bar, and to cast our garlands, gathered and per- 
fumed from memory's casket, upon the tomb in which 
he lies near his darling children — precious jewels, who 
years ago, like sweetest, brightest flowers nipped by an 
untimely frost, faded away forever. 

In the death of Governor Benjamin Franklin Perry, 
the State of South Carolina, loved and honored so much 
by him, has lost one of her purest men and most useful 
and highly distinguished citizens. Full of years and 
full of honors and with a name written in immortal 
characters across more than half a century of his 
country's history, that grand old Roman has gone to 
rest and is taking his last sleep in the bosom of his 
native land and in the city where he achieved so many 
brilliant triumphs as an advocate, in the forum. 

As a patriot he was ardent and devoted, sincere and 
unselfish. With all the fervor of his great heart he 
loved his country for his country's sake and stood by 
her with heroic courage, whether she was right or 
wrong. Never faltering for her weal, he was always 
ready to make any sacrifice, however great, to advance her 
welfare and prosperity, or to shield, protect and defend 
her against wrong, injustice and oppression. In this 
zeal, love and fidelity to her, the language of his great 
heart was millions for defence but not a cent for tribute. 
And when the heated controversies over vexed questions 
as to what course his country should pursue were 
terminated, he allowed no bitterness towards his oppo- 
nents to linger in his bosom, but actuated by his gener- 
ous, forgiving nature, he freely and readily forgave all 
past differences between himself and his countrymen. 



GEEENVILLE BAE. 33 

As a statesman, he was broad, bold, courageous and 
progressive, and ranked as such among the great and 
distinguished luminaries of our country. No one of his 
cotemporaries had a clearer conception or understood 
better than he did, the spirit and genius of our republi- 
can institutions; the organic law of both the State and 
Federal governments — the powers conferred by the States 
upon the general government and those reserved by the 
States to themselves. All of the great questions and 
measures that have sprung up and agitated the general 
government from its organization to the present time 
were familiar with him. The alien and sedition laws ; 
the Missouri compromise; the slavery questions; the 
tariff; bank of the United States; internal improve- 
ment by the general government ; the Munroe doctrine ; 
the immunity of our ships from search upon the high seas ; 
nullification ; secession, and reconstruction were closely 
examined, thoroughly scrutinized, accurately analyzed, 
and perfectly mastered by him. When surrounded by 
a group of his genial friends it was a rich, intellectual 
treat to hear him, with his wonderful conversational 
powers, review any of these great national questions and 
the lives of the patriots and sages who engaged in their 
discussion in the congress of the United States. And 
the name of Governor Perry as a wonderfully gifted 
statesman will go down the ages in the history of our 
country with the names of Calhoun, McDuffie, Hayne 
and other illustrious men. 

In the meridian of his legal career Governor Perry 
was regarded, both by the bench and the bar, as one of 
the ablest lawyers and most powerful advocates in the 
State. At that time the western circuit was dis- 
tinguished for its able lawyers — Judge Wardlaw, Judge 
Whitner, Armstead Burt, Henry C. Young, James 
Edward Henry and General Waddy Thompson, besides 
some other distinguished men, practised law at the 
Greenville bar — and Governor Perry was then, certainly, 
the peer and equal in legal learning and forensic ability 



'34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

of any of those great lawyers. He was then engaged on 
the one side or the other, in every important case, both 
civil and criminal, which came before the court at this 
place. Among the many great State trials in which he 
was engaged was the celebrated Gardner case, the hear- 
ing of which occupied the court for several months at 
Washington city. And assisted by Judge Wardlaw 
and Hon. Armstead Burt, Governor Perry defended the 
Hon. William L. Yancey when he was arraigned at the 
bar, at Greenville, charged with murder, and whose 
trial terminated in a verdict of manslaughter. He was 
sentenced to fine and imprisonment, and Governor 
Noble remitted both of these in a few weeks. He was 
a bold and fearless, a terse and perspicuous writer. His 
editorials in the old Mountaineer, and afterwards in the 
Patriot and Mountaineer, his biographical sketches or 
reminiscences of distinguished men, his extensive contri- 
butions to the periodical literature of the country, and 
his written speeches for special public occasions, were 
anxiously sought for, and eagerly read and carefully 
preserved by the best scholars of the country. 

As a citizen, he was a model worthy of imitation. 
He was always frank, generous and sincere in his inter- 
course and dealings with mankind and uniformly just 
and polite. He loved his friends, was an examplar 
of virtue, scorned a mean act, and was one of nature's 
noblest workmanship — an honest man. 

He tranquilly met death and ended life's journey on 
Friday morning, the 3d day of December, 1886, at Sans 
Souci, his beautiful home and seat of elegant hospitality, 
in sight of mountain crags, sparkling brooks and shin- 
ing river. And the large and commanding form of that 
wonderfully gifted and highly intellectual and scholarly 
man lay in state in his spacious library hall, filled with 
tomes and volumes of choice and elegant books, which 
seemed like silent sentinels to watch over his remains 
until Sunday, December 5th, when he was borne hither 
to the cemetery by a host of sorrowing, sympathizing 



GREENVILLE BAR. 35 

friends, who laid him gently down, with bleeding hearts 
and briny tears, in his new-made grave to take his last 
long repose. 

He has gone forever from us, and, in all probability, 
in the noble qualities of head and heart and the brilliant 
record of a useful and honorable life, we will never see 
his like again. 

Mr. C. M. Furman said : 

It is so much the custom to praise the dead, that occa- 
sions like the present are too often but empty ceremo- 
nies, in which the desire to please the living by cheap 
laudation of the departed is the chief motive. And 
hence, what is said on such occasions is very often re- 
garded as a mere sentimental outburst — the glowing 
picture having no counterpart in the life or character of 
him who is represented. But on this occasion there is 
no room for empty words. Should any one attempt to 
portray the man who has fallen among us so as to do 
justice to the great subject, he would find matter to his 
hand, crowding upon him in such abundance as to tran- 
scend the limits by which we are circumscribed. 

I shall attempt no such undertaking — it is needless. 
You all know the man. He stood amongst us like some 
grand old oak, erect, with wide-spread boughs, conspicu- 
ous to all observers. And now, that he has fallen, we 
feel as never before the largeness of the space he filled. 

The illustrious deceased was possessed, in a most re- 
markable degree, of three traits of character rarely seen 
combined in the same person. He was a man of tireless 
energy. He fought his way to the top. With an in- 
dustry that never flagged he mastered his profession and 
became a great lawyer, and not content with this, he 
turned his vigorous mind to the difficult study of poli- 
tics and became a great statesman. No labor was too 
protracted or too severe for him. The end of the race, 
however long, he always reached triumphantly. He 
fought with fate and conquered circumstance by resolute 



36 GREENVILLE BAR PROCEED FNGS. 

endurance. He was a man of high courage. In his 
earlier career his convictions placed him in a position 
antagonistic to the great majority of the strong men 
who were around him. But he was not the man to 
count the number of his opponents. He never lowered 
his lance because their battalions thickened. Though, 
like all patriotic men, he loved the approval of his 
countrymen, yet he dared to differ and bore their con- 
demnation in the calm consciousness of his own purity 
of purpose. In his later political life, when violence 
had usurped the seat of law, and a corrupt tyranny had 
supplemented right and justice, his voice arose, defiantly 
denouncing wrong and inspiring his people with fresh 
hope and courage. He was a man of absolute integrity. 
Many men possessed of the first mentioned qualities are 
found wanting in this. The profession of the law, the 
political arena, present special temptations to men of 
feeble conscience, and too often men whose intellectual 
gifts lift them above their fellows are morally wrecked 
through the opportunities thus offered. But no breath 
of suspicion ever stirred against him. "His enemies 
themselves being judges" — his character was not only 
"sans peur" but "sans reproche." While others were 
blown about by the gusts of popular feeling and set their 
sails subserviently to catch whatever wind might blow, 
he, despising the acts of the time server and the syco- 
phant alike, held steadily on his course, and having 
faced manfully the duties of life, he has reached at last, 
in honor and good report with all men, the haven of 
eternal rest. 

Such a life needs no commentary. It is a lesson to 
us all. It is of more value than precept or exhortation, 
it is a stimulus to noble living, and as such let us cherish 
its memory as a heritage of richest value. 

The resolutions were adopted unanimously by a rising 
vote and the meeting adjourned. 



PROCEEDINGS TN THE 

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 

GREENVILLE, APRIL 6th, 1887. 



At the opening of the Court of Common Pleas on Wed- 
nesday, April 6th, Colonel G. F. Townes addressed Judge 
Fraser and presented the resolutions adopted by the Green- 
ville bar in honor of the late Governor Perry, in performance 
of the duty assigned him by his brethren. He asked that 
they be recorded on the journal of the court, and moved for 
adjournment as a mark of respect for the deceased, following 
his motion with brief but appropriate and feeling remarks. 

The motion was seconded by John R. Bellinger, M. F. 
Ansel, J. A. Mooney, Judge J. 8. Cothran and Julius H. 
Hey ward. 

Mr. Bellinger said : 

May it please your Honor — In this temple of justice, 
where the illustrious dead was wont so oft to stand in 
defence of the rights of his fellow-countrymen, it is fit 
that the business of the court should stop, that we should 
pause in the discharge of our duties to pay a deserved 
tribute to the memory of departed worth. And however 
vain and unmeaning these ceremonies usually are, yet I 
venture the assertion that on this occasion not one word 
will be spoken, not one single act be done, that will not 
be prompted by the sincere conviction of him who says 
or does it. 

Admitted to the bar in 1827, Governor Perry for fifty- 
nine years adorned the profession of which he was at 
once an ornament and a shining light. The relation of 
a lawyer to his client he regarded as a sacred trust, to be 
performed under the dictates of an enlightened conscience, 
actuated solely by the considerations of right and duty. 
Always studious, ever ready and fully prepared in his 



38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

cases, he took advantage of no technicalities which the 
justice of his cause and the rights of Jiis client did not 
demand that he should act upon. Truth was his guiding 
star, and in every cause he sought to find it, and always 
followed and was led by it. So thoroughly was his con- 
duct actuated by this principle that in looking back over 
his life I do not believe a single professional act could 
be pointed to which he would have had performed other- 
wise than as it was. 

But, may it please your Honor, Governor Perry was 
not only a distinguished lawyer, he was also a profound 
statesman. However true in England the remark might 
be that a great lawyer can never make a wise statesman, 
in this country, at least, and in the person of our dis- 
tinguished friend, it is not an axiom, for it is not true. 
Living in the stormiest period of our country's history, 
when the greatest questions of public policy were agitat- 
ing the whole people, he found himself almost invariably 
on the side of the minority, yet no man ever for an 
instant thought that his convictions were not sincere or 
his opinions honest. The purest patriotism prompted 
his every political word and deed, and all that he did 
and all that he said was in the faith of duty to his State 
and country. 

And, may it please your Honor, time and the circum- 
stances through which we have passed have demonstrated 
the wisdom of some, at least, of the opinions he held. 

Our friend was also a man of letters. Possessed of 
one of the finest miscellaneous libraries in the State, he 
was well informed on any subject which might arise. 
Thus it was that his society was courted and sought after 
by those who desired either to be entertained or instructed, 
for he was ever willing to impart to others that knowl- 
edge which he himself possessed. It was not my fortune 
to know him until within a few short years, but knowing 
was but to admire him, and it will ever be a source of 
satisfaction to me, your Honor, that I did know him, and 
to feel that he was my friend. 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 39 

Shall we lift the sacred veil that shuts out his domestic 
from his public life ? If we do, we behold the devoted 
husband, the affectionate father, the kind master, the- 
generous friend, yea, may it please your Honor, the 
humble Christian. For whatever may be the public 
opinion as to Governor Perry's religious belief, we are 
assured by his pastor that he died in the perfect faith of 
an humble Christian child, and if better proof than this 
were wanted we have it in his own words. In his last 
will and testament, in its very first item, this language 
occurs : " I give my soul to God, hoping and trusting 
in His mercies, through the merits of our Lord and 
Saviour, Jesus Christ." 

Thus, then, may it please your Honor, has passed 
away the distinguished lawyer, the pure patriot, the 
wise statesman, the fond and affectionate husband and 
father, the generous friend, the Christian gentleman, 

11 A combination and a form indeed, 
Where every god did seem to set his seal, 
To give the world assurance of a man." 

As such, he is worthy to be held up as an example 
for the youth of this and of future generations; and 
happy will it be for the State of South Carolina, happy 
for the community in which they live, happy for them- 
selves, if any be found worthy to wear the mantle 
which has fallen from his shoulders. He needs no 
marble monument to perpetuate his memory. He lives 
upon the pages of his country's history, he lives in the 
hearts of his countrymen. He lives, aye! and will 
ever live, in the priceless legacy which he has left to. 
his children and his children's children — an unspotted 
reputation, an honored name. 

"No farther seek his merits to disclose, 
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode ; 
(There, they alike in trembling hope repose,) 
The bosom of his Father and his God." 

I heartily second the resolutions which have beefr 



40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

offered, and move that the court adjourn until to-mor- 
row morning, in honor of the memory of Governor 
Benjamin Franklin Perry. 

Mr. Ansel said : 

May it please your Honor — I had the honor before 
another tribunal, soon after the death of our distin- 
guished friend, Governor B. F. Perry, to introduce 
resolutions similar to the ones now presented, com- 
memorative of Governor Perry, and to advocate the 
adoption of the same by the house of representatives of 
the State of South Carolina, and it gives me pleasure to 
add a few words on this occasion, and in this presence, 
upon the resolutions now offered. 

It is, I think, eminently proper for us, among whom 
he has spent his long and useful life, to stop and con- 
sider the many good traits of his character, and as he is 
removed from our midst, to drop a tear upon the grave 
that hides his form from our sight. 

The esteem in which he was held by the people of 
this county and State was shown on many occasions. 
He was the recipient of the highest offices in the gift of 
the people, and in each and every one of them dis- 
charged the duties pertaining thereto with fidelity and 
honor. 

My acquaintance with Governor Perry began during 
the later years of his life, and after he had retired from 
active practice at the bar, and I could but admire him 
for his honorable and upright life. 

A few weeks ago I read with much pleasure and 
profit a speech delivered by him in 1844, before the 
students of Erskine College, Due West, S. C, and was 
touched with the wise words of advice it contained. 
The virtues of many great and good men were extolled, 
and his hearers admonished to imitate them. 

We, the younger members of the bar, and the older 
ones too, might well learn a lesson from the exemplary 
life and high intellectual and moral character of our 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 41 

distinguished dead. He was a valuable member of this 
community and State, and the influence of such a life 
is not measured by the direct results alone. It is felt 
in its elevating power, lifting us to higher and nobler 
aims. His faithfulness in the discharge of duty is well 
known. He was a son of whom South Carolina had 
every reason to be proud, and his loss will long be felt 
and sincerely mourned. 

" Peace to his ashes." 

Mr. Mooney said : 

May it please your Honor — I hope that my older 
brethren of the bar will pardon the seeming forwardness 
in one so young as myself in rising in this presence to 
second these resolutions. But sir, Governor Perry was 
my friend, in the truest meaning of friend, and I cannot 
allow this occasion to pass without adding my little 
tribute to the memory of the great man who has fallen 
among us. 

Before I had reached the age to appreciate for myself 
the noble qualities of head aud heart that adorned the 
life of Governor Perry, I was taught at home to respect 
and honor him. Having grown up in a section of this 
county in which he was admired and looked up to per- 
haps more than any other, and having seen in what 
esteem the people held him, I could not but join with 
the throng that did him honor. But if your Honor 
please, when I came to know this personification of 
chivalry, this great statesman and profound lawyer, I 
found that the half had not been told me. 

It was under his tuition and that of his distinguished 
son that I prepared myself for admission to practice in 
this Court ; and it is a distinction that I will always 
remember with a feeling of pride. 

Having been more or less intimately acquainted with 
him for quite a number of years, I had an opportunity 
to ascertain the principles which governed his life ; and 
l^lo think, sir, that when we find among the millions 



42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

who are pushing and scrambling for fame and fortune, 
with an utter disregard of the means used, or the result 
to their fellow-men, a man who dares always do right, 
we should pause to admire, and point him out to the 
world as a man who is indeed the noblest work of God. 
Such a man was Governor Perry. His high character 
rendered him incapable of doing anything inconsistent 
with the highest instinct of a gentleman. No matter 
in what sphere of life he was called upon to perform a 
duty, whether as private citizen, lawyer or statesman, 
his high sense of moral rectitude always controlled his 
conduct, and in the discharge of that duty he knew no 
fear. Possessing a very high order of both moral and 
physical courage, he stood immovably by his convic- 
tions. I read with much profit, a short time ago, an 
address delivered by Governor Perry before the literary 
societies of Erskine College in 1844. It is a most ad- 
mirable production, and entirely characteristic of its 
author; and knowing that he always lived up to his 
convictions, it gives us an insight to the character of 
the great man. One sentence in that address struck me 
as being peculiarly characteristic. It was this: "With- 
out firmness and high moral courage no man can act 
correctly, no matter how pure his principles may be."- 
His life proved the truthfulness of these words. Few 
men would have withstood the strong current of public 
sentiment as he did. When the heroic blood of Caro- 
lina's brave sons was boiling with indignation at the 
action of the North in demanding the emancipation of 
our slaves, and when the voice of the people from the 
mountains to the seaboard was crying out for secession, 
Governor Perry had the courage to stand up among the 
frenzied multitude and raise his voice for the Union. 
Doubtless the calm and cool deliberation begat in his 
vision the smouldering embers of a once happy home,, 
the crouching form of a tender female weeping over the 
death of a brave husband or son, a proud and happy 
people humbled and impoverished, as a result of this 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 43 

unnatural war. Time, in my humble judgment, has 
proved that he was right. I could mention other 
abortive attempts to influence his conduct during his 
career as a legislator, but I deem it superfluous. Nor 
do I think it necessary in this presence to refer to the 
splendid services Governor Perry has done the country 
as a statesman. His walk has been among us, and his- 
tory is known to us all. For ages to come, in reading 
the history of the great men of our times, Carolina's 
sons will point with pride to the fact that Governor 
Perry was a true son of the old State. No one, I think, 
who knew him well, or has read much of that which 
he has written, will doubt that he was a Christian ; for 
there was no hypocrisy in his nature, and his senti- 
ments were all in strict accord with the teachings of 
Christianity. It has been well said by the gentleman 
who preceded me that he was the humble Christian 
gentleman. 

And now, my young brethren, we who are standing 
upon the threshold of the legal profession, we have an 
example in Governor Perry that it will be well for us to 
emulate. Let's take him as our model, and strive hard 
to attain to the high plane that he reached. Could we 
all succeed, what a bar, what a country we would have. 
He was zealous . in his causes, and no client of his 
ever had cause to complain that his interests were not 
properly attended to. 

I knew Governor Perry at home, and have seen his 
unselfish devotion to his family, and permit me to say, 
sir, that I have never seen a wife so proud of her hus- 
band as was Mrs. Perry of the Governor. She knew 
the manliness of his character, and adored him accord- 
ingly. If we mourn the loss of that manly form from 
our midst, how great must be her sorrow and loneliness 
until the trump's glad sound shall summon her to the 
everlasting companionship of that noble spirit that 
beckons her from the other shore. 



44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 

Mr. Hey ward said : 

May it please your Honor — I cannot allow the op- 
portunity to pass without expressing the high regard 
and admiration I feel for the subject of these resolu- 
tions. During the last five or six years of his life I 
was, perhaps, nearer to Governor Perry than any mem- 
ber of the bar except his son. During that time my 
intercourse with him was almost daily, and I can truly 
say that I never heard from his lips the expression of 
an unworthy thought ; of any, in fact, but the highest 
sentiments. He always expressed his feelings fearlessly, 
and without regard to consequences. He never had a 
friend or an enemy who could for a moment be in doubt 
as to his true sentiments towards him. This it was 
which added so much to his strength in Greenville 
county. What he said he meant, and no man ever knew 
him to deceive any one. His high courage is matter of 
history in this State. One of the most striking pictures 
in our history will represent him casting his single vote, 
upon a memorable occasion, in opposition to the entire 
convention in which he sat. This fact alone is sufficient 
to preserve his name as one of the striking characters 
of our State. 

His professional conduct was equally high. My own 
experience with him is illustrative of his kindly feeling 
and generosity towards his juniors at the bar. I came 
to Greenville a stranger to the entire community. Those 
of my relatives who were in public life with Governor 
Perry were diametrically opposed to him in their views. 
I knew nothing of him except his name, and he knew 
nothing of me except that I was a beginner at the bar, 
without experience and without a practice. But this was 
all he desired to know. His hand was frankly extended, 
and his advice and assistance ever at my disposal. In 
the moment of success, he had always a kindly smile 
and grasp of the hand in congratulation ; in the hour of 
difficulty, a brave, cheery word of encouragement. 

The empty chair, your Honor, is a constant reminder 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 45 

to me of the loss I, individually, have sustained. But 
it needs not this to remind me. Till I myself shall sink 
into the grave I shall not forget his kindness. 

Judge Fraser ordered the clerk to enter the resolutions, 
and said it was usual on such occasions to have a merely 
formal adjournment of the court in the last hour of the ses- 
sion. He thought, however, that the character and position 
of Governor Perry required a more marked expression of 
respect, and that business should be suspended immedi- 
ately. He added : 

It is a privilege to unite with you in this tribute to 
the memory of Governor Perry. We are not called to 
mourn the loss of one who has been taken from our 
midst in youth or even in the full vigor of manhood, 
but of one who has lived more than the three score and 
ten years allotted to man and who in mature old age, 
after a life full of usefulness and honor, has been gath- 
ered to the fathers. 

When I was a mere boy and scarcely knew anyone 
outside of my own home or had begun to feel or take 
an interest in anything beyond its narrow circle, I heard 
of him as a leader of men and an exponent of a grand 
principle. This he continued to be throughout a long and 
eventful life. He was ever the same heroic, consistent 
advocate of what in his judgment were the rights and 
true interests of the State he loved so well. 

This is not the occasion to discuss, nor is it possible 
for this generation to determine, the issues as to which 
there are differences of opinion amongst our people. 
They must be relegated to the future. 

To Governor Perry belonged all the attributes of 
true manhood and true greatness. To you it was given 
to know his worth as a neighbor and a friend. To 
those of us who were not so fortunate it was permitted 
to honor him as an eminent lawyer, a patriot and states- 
man. It was his eminent and unselfish patriotism that 
led him at the call of his State to surrender his own 
views of mere policy and unite his fortunes with those 



46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COURT. 

of his fellow-citizens ; and when disaster came in after 
years he was perhaps the boldest to raise his voice 
against the monstrous wrongs which arbitrary power 
had inflicted on a gallant though conquered people — 
wrongs which it was his privilege in his old age to see 
in a measure redressed. 

We make this record to-day, not to perpetuate his 
name, but to show that we are not unmindful of his 
virtues and his services. His is one of the few names 
that were not born to die and it will go down the cur- 
rent of history with the great men of South Carolina 
to serve in future times and for other generations to 
illustrate the character of a people whose representatives 
and exponents they are and of whom any people may be 
proud. 

Let these resolutions be recorded in accordance with 
the wishes of the bar, and let the Court stand adjourned 
until to-morrow morning at half-past nine o'clock. 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

Delivered in the Baptist Church at Greenville, South Carolina, 
on the Fourth of July, 1831. 

Friends and Fellow-Citizens:— There is some- 
thing in human nature which delights to recur to the 
virtuous and heroic deeds of a noble ancestry. There 
is a feeling in the bosom of every man, whether savage 
or civilized, that glows with rapture at the mention of 
dangers encountered, or honors achieved by the valor 
and wisdom of his country. There is no duty we per- 
form so cheerfully as that of paying honor to the mem- 
ories of great and illustrious men. There is no event 
whose anniversary we so willingly join in commemo- 
rating as that which reflects lustre on the glory and 
renown of our national character. There is no festival 
more pleasing to the finer and better feelings of the 
human heart than that which celebrates the merited 
worth of departed heroes and patriots. In every age 
and among every people in the world, gratitude, rever- 
ence and veneration have been found the instinctive 
principles of man. 

It is under the influence of such feelings, inseparable 
from our nature, that we have assembled here to-day. 
Actuated by one and the same impulse, urged by one 
and the same motive, we have come to do honor unto 
those to whom honor is due. We have met, not like 
the ancient Romans, to commemorate the anniversary of 
some proud conquest, or victorious achievement over an 
oppressed and enslaved people. We have come, not to 
celebrate a triumph of the imperfect sceptre over rude 
and savage independence, nor have we assembled to 
47 



48 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

exult over the fallen ruins of a great and powerful 
nation. But we have met with mingled emotions of 
piety, gratitude and virtuous pride, to commemorate the 
anniversary of American Independence — the birth day 
of liberty. 

In performing the part which has been assigned me 
on this occasion, need I recur to the discovery and early 
settlement of this country ? Shall I relate the feeling 
and pathetic story of our forefathers, flying from the 
land of civil and religious oppression — leaving their 
homes, their firesides and their families — giving up the 
luxuries and comforts of a refined society — abandoning 
the tombs of their ancestors, and breaking asunder those 
ties which bind man to his own native soil — committing 
themselves to the dangers and tempests of an unknown 
ocean — and seeking an asylum in this vast and howling 
wilderness ? Shall I recount the toils, the privations 
and the painful vicissitudes which they had to encounter 
in a barren country, exposed to all the inclemencies of a 
rigorous climate, surrounded by a merciless savage foe, 
and alternately threatened with war, famine and pesti- 
lence ? Need I attempt before this assembly to sketch 
the character of those humble, devout pilgrims who first 
landed at Plymouth, Salem and Jamestown? Shall I 
speak of their supreme regard for religion, their daunt- 
less fortitude, their devotion to liberty, their moral vir- 
tues and their social feelings? Shall I tell how they 
converted a dreary wilderness, the abode of savages and 
the haunt of prowling beasts into fruitful fields and 
flourishing plantations? Shall I mention their unri- 
valled prosperity, or their final wealth and greatness? 
No, fellow-citizens. These things are known to you 
all. They were impressed on your minds in the days 
of your infancy. You have read them in the graphic 
legends of your country. You have seen them on 
the faithful pages of history. They are fresh in your 
memories. 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 49 

The American Revolution is, in every point of view, 
the most important and interesting event that has ever 
occurred in the annals of the world. Whether we regard 
the causes which led to it, the spirit and success with 
which it was carried on, or the influence which it has 
had on the destinies of other nations, it stands unequaled, 
either for purity of conception, boldness in action, or 
usefulness in example and consequence. There may 
have been revolutions more extensive, achieved by bat- 
tles more fatal, or victories more brilliant. But there 
never was a change in government originated for a purer 
purpose, or sustained by more devoted patriotism and 
heroic bravery. The mind of man is incapable of con- 
ceiving a more sublime or interesting spectacle than that 
of a few infant colonies, without any common bond of 
union, save that of an ardent love of liberty, thinly dis- 
persed over an immense tract of country, and destitute 
of all the necessary means of warfare, engaging in a 
struggle for life, liberty and independence, with a great 
and powerful Empire, rich in every resource, and capa- 
ble of sending forth to battle millions of mercenary 
troops ! But it was a contest for freedom and the rights 
of man on the one side, and the sceptre of tyranny and 
the iron hand of oppression on the other. In a cause 
so just and holy on the part of the colonies, and so 
wicked and monstrous on the part of the mother coun- 
try, it is neither vain-glorious nor inconsistent with the 
nature of an All-wise Being, to suppose that the ruling 
hand of Providence assisted in governing and directing 
the issue. 

The manners, habits, education and mode of thinking 
among the colonists, were eminently calculated to inspire 
them with a hatred for tyranny and a love of liberty. 
They were far removed from all the pomp, show and 
splendor of royalty, and consequently strangers to that 
influence which a court and nobility imperceptibly exer- 
cise over the minds of most men. They were all 
engaged in agricultural pursuits, and accustomed to 



50 FOUKTH OF JULY ORATION. 

industry, prudence and economy; habits which tend 
more than anything else to encourage notions of general 
equality and republican simplicity. They had among 
them no hereditary titles, honors, or distinctions. They 
had gradually lost those feelings and affections for Eng- 
land which their forefathers long continued to cherish 
for the land of their nativity. If they were still 
reminded that it had once been the home of their ances- 
tors, they quickly recollected that it was a home from 
which they had been driven by the ruthless hand of 
oppression. It is therefore not surprising that the colo- 
nists should have resisted the first efforts on the part of 
the British Parliament to tax them without their con- 
sent. They were well-acquainted with those funda- 
mental principles of liberty on which the English Con- 
stitution is founded. They knew that the right of rep- 
resentation and the right of taxation had hitherto been 
considered by the subjects of Great Britain, as insepa- 
rable. They knew that if they once yielded this well- 
established principle of magna char.ta, they would aban- 
don forever all that was desirable in the name of lib- 
erty. Hence they immediately recognized a departure 
from the rights of freemen in the tea and stamp duties. 
They clearly foresaw the dangers which must ensue, if 
those acts of usurpation were submitted to. The alarm 
was simultaneously given in Virginia and Massachusetts 
by two of the boldest and most fearless spirits that ever 
shone in the councils of any nation. The names of 
James Otis and Patrick Henry are intimately associated 
with all that is great and good in the character of dis- 
tinguished patriots and statesmen. These illustrious 
men justly acquired the fame of having been the prime 
movers of the American Revolution. It was by the 
loftiness of their genius, the fire, boldness and grandeur 
of their eloquence, that a tone was given to public opin- 
ion, and an impulse to that spirit which declared the 
people of Great Britain "enemies in war, in peace 
friends." 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 51 

Every one who is at all acquainted with the events 
of the American Revolution must acknowledge that 
it was fruitful, beyond a parallel, in the production of 
great and illustrious men. In contemplating the his- 
tory of that period we know not which the more to 
admire, the civic virtues, the wisdom in legislation, the 
genius and eloquence of those who directed the councils 
of their country ; or the military talent, the heroic 
bravery, the dauntless spirit and disinterested zeal of 
those who guided her armies and achieved her glory in 
war. Among those who were distinguished as states- 
men, we meet with Franklin, in whose character are 
united the philosopher, the patriot, and the philanthro- 
pist. His fame as a philosopher has extended itself 
over the civilized world, and is only commensurate with 
his greatness as a patriot. Associated with him was 
Jefferson, the great apostle of liberty, whose writings 
have enriched science, and whose pert has immortalized 
his country. His career was as brilliant and useful as 
his patriotism was sincere. In politics his principles have 
become the model and standard of republicanism. At 
this period we find John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, 
and John Rutledge, men whose bold, thrilling and re- 
sistless eloquence, like a rushing torrent, carried every 
thing before it. Whether endowed by nature, or in- 
spired by the greatness of the occasion, they exhibited, 
in the first Congress, an eloquence which soared above 
any thing since the days of Cicero and Demosthenes. 
The republics of Greece and Rome during the proud- 
est period of their forensic history would have ranked 
them with the most eloquent of their orators. What 
specimens of nature's greatness were Samuel Adams and 
Roger Sherman ! The one a schoolmaster and the 
other a shoemaker! And yet for depth of intellect, 
manly courage, literary attainment, stoic virtue, origin- 
ality of thought, purity of heart, and practical useful- 
ness, they may be compared to the most distinguished 
men of antiquity. But it would be an almost endless 



52 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

task were I to attempt to portray the characters of all 
those, who, like John Hancock, Henry Laurens, Chris- 
topher Gadsden, John Jay, and Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney, were distinguished for their genius, their 
boldness, their patriotism and their greatness in every 
virtue that can adorn the character of statesmen, or 
exalt the lives of patriots. Great and illustrious band 
of noble spirits ! They have been " gathered to the 
everlasting resting place of their fathers! " But their 
virtues have consecrated, and time has hallowed their 
names. Like some towering majestic tree which has 
breasted the storms of ages, while every thing around it 
has fallen, the venerable Charles Caroll of Carollton, 
is now the only surviving signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. He, only, of that assembly of godlike 
men remains to witness the grandeur and prosperity of 
his country. Venerable and venerated man ! thirteen 
millions of persons are this day commemorating thy 
deeds, and offering up praises to thy name ! 

In turning from the civil history of America during 
her revolution, to that which tells of her military re- 
nown, and points to the leaders of her armies, we are 
again lost in admiration for her glory and greatness. 
In other countries there may have been generals more 
successful, or more distinguished by the brilliancy of 
their achievements. They may have gained more vic- 
tories, or taken more captives in battle. They may 
have made greater conquests, or shed more blood. But 
there never was a number of military men who pos- 
sessed in a more eminent degree than the revolutionary 
officers of America did, all the important and essential 
requisites of great generals. Where is there to be found 
a military chieftain who equalled in valor, wisdom, 
firmness, virtue and devotion to country, our illustrious 
Washington ! Who would exchange his fame as the 
commander of an army for that of Caesar's or Alexan- 
der's ! Who would not rather be Washington at York- 
town than Bonaparte at Austerlitz ! It is true there is 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 53 

more in the situation of the latter to dazzle and bewilder 
the ambition of a despot. But there is something in 
the former more truly great and interesting to the vir- 
tuous aspirations of a noble soul. The Emperor of 
France at the head of powerful armies, surrounded with 
all the resources wh r ch his great genius could require, 
gained splendid and triumphant victories over the con- 
federated sovereigns of Europe. But Washington, at 
the head of a retreating and flying army, insignificant 
in point of numbers, destitute of all the requisites of 
war, kept in awe, and finally overcame the forces of the 
most powerful kingdom in the world ! But what were 
the objects of the two men? The one fought, as it 
were, for the love of slaughter, and the other was fight- 
ing for the liberty of his country. 

Engaged in the same great cause, and equally vic- 
torious with the commander-in-chief, was Nathaniel 
Greene, who, without any previous military education 
or discipline, became all at once, and that too whilst he 
was a very young man, the leader of an army which 
fought successfully with the best generals of England. 
By his zeal, his unremitted activity, his bravery and his 
real military genius, he acquired the reputation of being 
one of the most accomplished officers of his age. His 
fame as "the hero of the South," is as durable as the 
plains of Eutaw, or the heights of Guilford. Whilst 
the Southern country continues to enjoy her liberty, 
the name of General Greene will be revered and 
cherished. 

In relating the characters of those who lived to enjoy 
the rewards of their hard-earned fame, there is some- 
thing pleasing and gratifying to our feelings. But it is 
painful indeed to revert to the recollection of those who 
fell at the commencement of their struggle, a sacrifice to 
the cause in which they were engaged, without even the 
consolation of knowing that their country was triumph- 
ant and victorious. We delight to speak of the virtues 
of those who lived to enjoy the noble success of their 



54 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

virtues ; but to recall the deeds of those who fell amidst 
their toils and dangers, fills the human breast with 
the most melancholy emotions. Such was the fate of 
Warren, Montgomery, Laurens, and De Kalb. The 
eloquent and accomplished Warren who was "more 
attached to liberty than to existence," and who was "as 
much the foe of ambition as he was the friend of free- 
dom," fell at the commencement of his career whilst 
serving as a volunteer on Bunkers Hill. Never was 
the earth crimsoned with the blood of a purer patriot or 
a better man. Like Warren, fell the brave, the gallant 
Montgomery, who, it is said, loved glory much, but 
liberty yet more. "Neither genius, nor valor, nor 
occasion failed him, but time and fortune." Had he 
lived longer he would have left his country "the model 
of military heroism and civil virtues." Had his life 
been spared on the heights of Quebec, the fortress and 
the city would certainly have yielded to the continental 
army. The young, the gallant, and the chivalric Lau- 
rens, lived to see his country successful and her Inde- 
pendence secured. He fought throughout the whole of 
the American Revolution as the ideal knight of some 
romance. Wherever there was danger in battle, there 
was his post. He seemed, at times, to court the perils 
of war with the enthusiasm of a lover and the reckless- 
ness of a madman ! He was spared, however, to receive 
the sword of Cornwallis, and to end his career at the 
close of the war. But he had obtained the summit of 
his ambition. He had shared the dangers of his country 
until there were none left to share. He cared not for 
the honors or rewards which she could bestow. They 
were something beneath his ambition. Though De 
Kalb was not a native of this country, yet he was pro- 
duced, as it were, by the American Revolution. W T e 
claim him with Lafayette, Steuben and Kosciusko, as 
our own. They were all deeply inspired with the cause 
in which our forefathers were engaged, and nobly offered 
their assistance. 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 55 

Fain would I speak, if time permitted, of the heroic 
bravery, patriotism and virtues of Morgan, Moultrie, 
Howard, Putnam, Sumter, Stark, Marion, Pickens and 
many others, who shone so conspicuously in the war of 
Independence. Distinguished heroes, your names and 
your renown are engraved on the hearts of your coun- 
trymen ! Sooner will the theatre of your victories pass 
away, than your military services be forgotten ! Whilst 
our government continues, whilst there is one spark of 
liberty left among us, your deeds and your memories shall 
be honored and cherished. Your sacrifices and your suf- 
ferings must be recollected and appreciated whilst the 
bosoms of your countrymen glow with the feelings of 
men. The glory of your lives is far above that of the 
most distinguished captains of antiquity. It is as im- 
perishable as liberty itself. 

Need I here recur to those brilliant actions which 
gained our Independence? Need I recall the battles 
of Lexington, Concord, Monmouth and Germantown ? 
Or shall I name the victories of Saratoga, Trenton, 
Cowpens, King's Mountain and Yorktown ? Must I 
recount the laurels which were gained, or the valor and 
genius which were displayed in those engagements? 
No, fellow-citizens, you are all acquainted with those 
victories, battles and engagements. You have all read 
of them with rapture and delight. Many of you have 
heard their glorious incidents told at your firesides by 
fathers who were present at them, and seemed to fight 
them over again. Neither will I detain you to relate 
the losses, the toils and the sufferings of those who lived 
at this momentous era. Great as they were, we will 
not now lament over them. They should rather inspire 
us with pride than pity. If they had been ten times 
greater than they were, those who had to bear them 
were amply compensated by the blessings which ensued 
to them and their posterity. 

The Declaration of Independence was adopted, and 
the revolution successfully prosecuted for a number of 



56 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

years without any federal government. There was no 
bond of union except that of common danger and com- 
mon interest. Whilst the states were engaged in a 
struggle for life, liberty and independence, they needed 
no incentive to duty from the hand of power. But 
no sooner was clanger over and their Independence 
acknowledged, than they began to feel the effects of too 
much security. The articles of the old confederation 
which had been adopted towards the close of the revo- 
lution, were soon found to be too feeble and inefficient 
for so great a nation, uniting so many various interests 
and sectional feelings. Domestic disturbances were 
beginning to be felt, and the government possessed no 
confidence in the eyes of foreign nations. The world 
began to think that the theory of a republican govern- 
ment would fail once more. The wisest and best men 
in the country were on the eve of despondency. They 
began to believe that all their toils and sufferings, their 
battles and losses were in vain. The patriots of the 
revolution were ready to conclude that they had been 
fighting for a phantom. In this state of things, and 
under these circumstances, a federal convention was 
called for the purpose of forming a " more perfect 
union." This convention was filled with the wisest and 
best men in the states. They were the same who had 
fought through the revolution, or who had during that 
momentous period been conspicuous members of Con- 
gress. After many months spent in close and solemn 
deliberation, the federal constitution was handed forth 
to the world as the product of their wisdom and labor. 

The idea of a republican government extending over 
any great extent of country had hitherto been consid- 
ered as the wildest of all chimeras. Its advocates were 
considered the most visionary of theorists. They were 
referred, for refutation of opinions so absurd, to the 
history of preceding republics. But where is the 
similarity between the republics of Greece, Rome and 
Carthage, and that of America? In the latter there is 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 57 

a new principle introduced, which gives it strength, 
stability and practical usefulness, all of which were 
wanting in the former systems of government. It is 
the principle of representation. This is a modern dis- 
covery. In the republics of antiquity there was nothing 
but a pure democracy. The people assembled in their 
own proper persons, made laws, and regulated the 
affairs of the nation. But in this country legislation is 
carried on and all public business is transacted by means 
of representatives. The people are not required to 
assemble and make laws as they did at Athens. Hence, 
the more extended our republic is, the more permanent 
will it be. 

The federal constitution is the most perfect system of 
civil policy that the wisdom of man can invent. It is 
most appropriately adapted to these United States. 
When we think of the difficulties which had to be 
encountered in its formation, we are astonished that a 
plan of government so equitable, so wise, and so 
republican should have been instituted by the representa- 
tives of a country, so extended and so diversified in 
interest. But the liberal spirit of compromise may be 
seen in it. Without this nothing could ever have been 
done towards the formation of so perfect an union. 
With what pride and self-congratulation should we con- 
template this happy charter of our liberties ! It is an 
inheritance bequeathed us by our fathers, and which we 
are bound to transmit unimpaired to posterity. How 
fondly should we cherish it ! How careful should we 
be to preserve it ! Whether we regard the military 
glory which preceded it, or the wisdom evinced in its 
formation, or the prosperity which we have acquired 
under it, we should in either point of view regard it as 
the most sacred and precious of all inheritances. Let 
no one think it can be made more perfect Changes in 
politics, like novelties and alterations in everything 
else, may please for the moment, but are not apt to 
continue. 



58 FOURTH OF JUJ.Y ORATION. 

Connected with the preservation of this government, 
and inseparable from those principles on which it is 
founded, is the preservation of this union. Depend on 
it, fellow-citizens, that unity of government which 
constitutes you one people is the main prop and pillar 
in the edifice of your real independence. On the 
inviolability of this union depends the enjoyment of 
that liberty which you so highly prize. You should 
frown indignantly on the first effort to alienate one 
portion of this country from another. Be not persuaded 
that you can in any event abandon this unity of 
government. These I know are trite maxims.' But 
they cannot be repeated too often. They are the dying 
words of the father of his country. They were left as 
his legacy to the people of these United States. I know, 
said he, that efforts will be made to create among you 
sectional jealousies and animosities. You cannot shield 
yourselves too well on this point. This is the language 
of Washington, a man who was incapable of a thought 
or an act contrary to the interest and welfare of his 
country. He was above suspicion. He possessed no 
other feelings than such as were inspired by a love of 
liberty. 

If Ave continue united as one people we have every- 
thing to expect, glory, prosperity, independence, liberty 
and renown among the nations of the earth. We shall 
ere long become the most powerful, as we are already, 
the most prosperous and happy people in the world. The 
name of America will everywhere command respect 
and guarantee the protection of her rights. Her govern- 
ment will have stability and power. Her citizens will 
enjoy peace abroad and tranquillity at home. The 
United States will continue, as they heretofore have 
been, the asylum of the oppressed and persecuted of all 
nations. Our population will go on increasing in 
numbers, wealth and respectability. Reared and edu- 
cated in virtue and religion, at peace with all the world 
and among themselves, the people of this country will 
have nothing to mar their glory and happiness. 



FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 59 

But now let us turn to the other side of this picture, 
and see what are the probable consequences of a dis- 
membered government. The history of the petty 
republics of Greece and Italy, with all their angry 
feelings, their feuds, their wars and animosities, will 
present us with a faithful sketch of the dire calamities 
which must ensue a division of our country into separate 
and independent governments. We should lose that 
proud standing which we now have among the nations 
of the earth. Our rights would be disregarded and our 
name a term of reproach. We should want that power 
which is capable of commanding respect abroad and 
securing tranquillity at home. Our commerce would 
be unprotected and a prey for every plunderer of the 
ocean. We should, in a word, sink into insignificance 
and be exposed to the insults of every vile despot. At 
home we should inevitably experience those jealousies 
and contentions which lead to constant war and stand- 
ing armies. The causes of strife which would spring up 
between the different states are innumerable. They 
may be foreseen by any one who is acquainted with 
those feelings of interest and ambition which always 
govern the intercourse of neighboring states or king- 
doms. It is reasonable to suppose that the more 
powerful states would attempt to crush the smaller 
and hence the latter would have to fly for protection to 
some European kingdom. Then indeed might we 
say farewell, a long farewell to liberty. In confor- 
mation to this picture which I have drawn of disunited 
America, I appeal to the history of ancient and modern 
times. Look at Greece during the Achaean and Am- 
phyctonic leagues. Read the history of the Germanic 
confederacy. View unfortunate Poland as she was in 
the days of her independence and separate aristocracies. 
Look into the history of the United Netherlands. Read 
the wars of the famous heptarchy in England. In the 
history of these petty neighboring governments, or 
loosely confederated states, we may see our own situa- 
tion when the bonds of this Union arc severed. 



60 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

To live united as one people, under one government, 
we have every inducement that can influence the human 
bosom. Interest, pride, glory, ambition, danger, 
virtue, gratitude, love and religion, all conspire to 
make us live as one people. We are all descended from 
a common ancestry. We all speak the same language. 
We are characterized by the same habits, manners and 
customs. We possess the same religion, and are equally 
entitled to the glories won in the revolution. Our 
fathers fought side by side in the great cause of 
American Independence. We are all countrymen of 
Lee, Henry, Hancock, Adams and Washington. How 
shall we, when once separated into three or twenty 
republics, claim citizenship with these illustrious men ! 
How shall we speak of the battles which achieved our 
independence ! How shall w r e divide, between the 
north and the south the honors which were in them 
won ! Must we forget the relationship of a common 
ancestry ! Must we sever those ties of blood and 
affinity which bind us together ! Shall we bury in 
oblivion that good feeling which has hitherto united 
us ! Shall we take up arms against our kindred and 
the compatriots of our fathers ! Forbid it ye spirits 
of '76 ! Shall we fight to destroy that Union which 
our fathers fought to establish ! Forbid it thou great 
Ruler of the universe! Let not our hands be stained 
with the blood of our brethren ! Let the voice of a 
brother ascend to Heaven disclosing on us, as it did on 
Cain of old ! 

The east and the west, the north and the south are 
mutually dependent on each other. There may occasion- 
ally arise among these different sections of our country 
a diversity of interests and inclinations. There may be 
felt at times some temporary inconveniences and hard- 
ships from a system of legislation which is to extend 
over the whole republic. But it will be as apt to be felt 
in one section as in another. The burthens and griev- 
ances are constantly changing and shifting from the north 



FOUKTH OF JULY ORATION. 61 

to the south, and from the south to the north. They 
are going from the east to the west, and from the west 
to the east. There have been, since the establishment of 
this government, complaints from all parts of the coun- 
try, equally and alike. It was during the administration 
of Washington that the ratification of Jay's treaty 
seemed to threaten a dissolution of the Union. The 
south was then injured and complained. Shortly after- 
wards, an excise duty on whiskey produced a rebellion 
in Pennsylvania. Under the administration of Mr. 
Adams, the alien and sedition laws produced an unpre- 
cedented excitement in Virginia and Kentucky. The 
whole western country were ready at one time to fly to 
arms for the navigation of the Mississippi. The people 
of this section complained of their want of a market or 
outlet for their produce, whilst the Atlantic states were 
enjoying wealth and abundance. Then came the embargo, 
under the administration of Mr. Jefferson. To get rid 
of this entire restraint on commerce, the New England 
states were on the eve of forming a separate confederacy. 
They alleged that their situation was intolerable, and 
that they were on the point of bankruptcy. It was 
during the administration of Mr. Madison that war was 
declared against Great Britain. This step was imperi- 
ously demanded in order to avenge our honor and wipe 
off the stain which was left on our national character. 
But the cry of disunion was heard again in accents still 
louder from the east. This war, in which the United 
States acquired so much glory and evinced so much chiv- 
alry, was denounced in the pulpit, the rostrum and the 
legislative hall. It was anathematized throughout the 
eastern states. So odious and unpopular was it in a city 
which proudly styles herself the Athens of America, that 
it was considered disgraceful to advance the government 
funds to carry it on. At this period there came forth, 
like a foul, hideous, skulking monster, the Hartford 
Convention. Its object was to provide ways and means 
for destroying this Union. But peace to its manes. 



62 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

Though it did not meet the death of a traitor, yet its 
fame has gathered around it all the fruits of treason. 
The war was no sooner closed by a brilliant succession 
of victories on land and sea than other causes of com- 
plaint against the government arose in other sections of 
the country. The establishment of the United States 
Bank was one of them. Maryland and Ohio were much 
excited and made great complaint. The constitutionality 
of the Bank was denied, resisted and tried in the federal 
courts. The present system of Internal Improvement 
and the Tariff came next in quick succession. They are 
twin sisters, and born under the same latitudinarian con- 
struction of the constitution. They are at war with the 
true spirit of our government, and equally odious in their 
operations upon the prosperity and happiness of the 
southern country. We now complain in our turn, of the 
unwise legislation of the general government. We have 
cause to complain. We are taxed unjustly and iniquit- 
ously, not to support the government — for this we would 
do most cheerfully — but to enhance the capital of the 
northern manufacturer. But let us beware that we adopt 
no hasty, no precipitate, no rash, fatal step to remedy our 
grievances. Like the evils which have been complained 
of in other sections of the country, springing from the 
same source, they may in a short time pass away. The 
tide of prosperity which has been so long going from the 
south may ere long roll back on us again. Let us look 
to the chapter of accidents and wait for the returning 
good sense of the American people. Let us surfer whilst 
evils are sufferable, rather than endanger this fair fabric 
of our ancestors — rather than destroy this Union, and 
with it the brightest hope of civilized man. 

I will not attempt, on this occasion, to discuss the policy 
or constitutionality of the " Carolina doctrine," which 
has been proposed to the people of South Carolina as a 
safe and salutary mode of redress. I will not dwell on 
a subject which has produced so much bitter feeling and 
party spirit in the state. This day and this occasion are 



FOURTH OP JULY OliATIOX. 63 

unfit for party questions. It is an occasion on which 
we ought to bury every thing calculated to excite an 
angry feeling or an unpleasant sensation. I cannot 
refrain, however, from expressing my deep, my profound 
regret that this question should have taken the course it 
has in South Carolina. We are all opposed to the Tariff, 
and sensibly aware of its injurious effects upon our 
country. We are all ready, and profess our willingness 
to get rid of it as soon as possible. We differ only as it 
regards the means and the way by which this is to be 
done. And on account of this difference, this honest 
difference of opinion on an incidental point, we have 
filled our bosoms with the most rancorous and malignant 
feelings for each other ! The ties of friendship have 
been dissolved, old political associations have been 
destroyed and new ones formed ! Father and son have 
been seen arrayed in hostile parties against each other ! 
Where is there a patriot who can witness this state of 
things without feeling the deepest forebodings of the 
future gloom which may overcast his country? And yet 
there seems to be no cessation of hostilities ! We every 
day hear of parties rallying and making still greater 
struggles for the ascendency ! My only wish, my only 
prayer is, that this heated and angry contest may not 
prove the downfall of our government and the end of 
civil liberty. Deep-rooted and fixed as my hatred to the 
tariff is, and always has been, I am unwilling to get rid 
of it " at any and every hazard." I am unwilling, on 
any account, to put in jeopardy this union, this govern- 
ment, our independence and our name as a people. 1. 
will not, I cannot believe that these, all these, should be 
submitted to " the vulgar rules of calculation." But if 
so, " then indeed" would I exclaim in the language of a 
noble and high-toned Carolinian, " our fathers were the 
last of American patriots ! " " The blood which they 
shed at Brandywine and Princeton, the glory which they 
acquired at Yorktown and Trenton, have been weighed 
against four cents a yard on woolens ! " " The honor 



64 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 

of South Carolina has been regulated by the rule of three. 
Washington's legacy exchanged for a ledger, and our 
patriotism reduced to dollars and cents ! " " We have 
calculated the profit and loss of being honorable, generous 
and free ! " 

One word more, fellow-citizens, and I shall have done. 
The basis of all republican governments is the virtue and 
intelligence of the people. With these qualities any 
nation may be free, without them none can. Hence the 
reason why so many efforts to establish a free govern- 
ment have failed. Give to a people enshrouded in dark- 
ness and vice all the civil liberty that man is capable of 
enjoying, and it will be like casting pearl before swine. 
They will be incapable of retaining or enjoying those 
blessings which flow from it. A free government, a wise 
constitution and judicious laws are worth nothing to a 
people wanting virtue and intelligence. These will be 
found no restraint on the ambition and corruption of the 
age. How easy is it for the plainest constitutional prin- 
ciples, and the most obvious and well-established rules 
of law to be misconstrued and misinterpreted ! There 
is no check on the interest and cupidity of rulers like 
that of an enlightened and virtuous public opinion. 
Therefore, fellow-citizens, whilst you remain as intelli- 
gent, and as moral as you are at present, you have little 
cause to apprehend danger to your liberties. But if you 
ever lose your present standing in knowledge and morals, 
you will most assuredly lose your freedom. You should 
consequently encourage science, disseminate information, 
Jove virtue and cherish religion. Do these things, live 
free, and be happy. 



AN ADDRESS 

Delivered at the Celebration of the Fifty-fourth Anniversary of the Battle 
of THE Covvpens, on the Battle-Ground, in Spartanburgh District, 
South Carolina, January 17, 1835. 



Fellow-Citizens: — We have met on a most solemn 
and interesting occasion — one calculated, beyond all 
others, to inspire our bosoms with an ardent love of 
country, a devout reverence for the deeds of our ancestors, 
and with feelings of deep and overwhelming gratitude 
to God. We have assembled for the purpose of com- 
memorating a valorous achievement of American 
arms, in defence of Liberty and the sufferings of a 
Bleeding Country. We have met too on the very 
plain — now consecrated as the Field of Battle and of 
Victory — enriched with the blood of our Countrymen, 
and bleaching with the bones of their Enemies. 

Yes, fellow-citizens, it was on this glorious and sacred 
spot, fifty-four years since to-day, as the morning's sun 
rose fair and brilliant over the heights of King's 
Mountain — recently immortalized with victory — that a 
gallant detachment of the American army here unfurled 
the Star-Spangled Banner of their country, and 
nobly resolved to die or conquer under its inspiring and 
protecting iEGis. No sooner was the Standard of 
Liberty hoisted to the morning breeze, and her Flag 
seen to waive aloft in proud defiance of the opposing 
foe, than the hearts and drooping spirit of the soldiery 
became nerved at the sight, and they cheerfully rushed 
on to the combat. Quickly the silent stillness of this 
65 



66 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

vast forest gave way to the roar of artillery and all the 
" din of horrid war." The earth, on which we now 
stand, was soon crimsoned with the blood, and covered 
with the fallen bodies of the contending armies ! And 
although the battle was one of undisciplined militia 
against a superior number of select and veteran troops, 
yet Victory was on the side of the former, contending 
for Liberty against Tyranny and Oppression. 

It may with truth be said, that in no battle of the 
American Revolution was the contest more unequal, or 
the victory more signal and complete. The British 
army was superior in numbers, in discipline, in arms, 
and in everything that can constitute an army, save the 
soul and spirit of the soldier, and the noble daring of the 
officer. In infantry, they were as jive to four, and in 
cavalry, as three to one! Every soldier, too, was pro- 
vided with all the necessary arms and implements of war, 
and had previously enjoyed all the comforts and con- 
veniences of baggage and provisions. On the other 
hand, the American troops had been for weeks destitute 
of almost everything that can render an army comfort- 
able within themselves, or formidable to their enemies. 
They were a retreating detachment, without artillery, 
without proper arms, and without baggage or provisions. 
In the language of a distinguished historian of that 
period — "the earth was their bed, the heavens their 
covering, and the rivulets which they crossed their only 
drink ! " In the dead of winter, barefooted, and with 
thin and tattered clothing, they were tracked, amidst 
snows and frosts, by the blood which trickled from their 
feet ! Yet, under all these sufferings and hardships 
they were never heard to murmur or complain ! They 
felt that their evils, great as they were, were as nothing 
when compared with the Tyranny and Oppression 
under which they were living. The spirit of Liberty a 
magnanimous patriotism and a daring chivalry, seemed 
to inspire them with courage and fortitude under every 
privation. 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 67 

It was natural that the British army should have been 
sanguine of success over their destitute and fleeing enemy 
— inferior in numbers, in discipline, in arms — and 
depressed in spirit and in feelings by the plunder and 
devastation of their country. Great, indeed, were the 
boastings of that vain-glorious officer, whose name is 
associated with everything that is infamous and daring, 
and whose cruelty and outrages had done more to sink 
than all his victories had to elevate the cause of Great 
Britain in South Carolina. But neither Colonel 
Tarleton nor the British army considered that they were 
on the eve of contending with men fighting for 
Freedom, and made desperate by their situation — men 
who believed that they were doing nothing more than 
their duty, in sacrificing their lives in defence of the vio- 
lated rights of their country. 

The Battle of the Cowpens furnishes a most inter- 
esting, and before unknown, incident in Military 
History — that of undisciplined militia renewing the 
attack, and charging their assailants with fixed, bayonets, 
after having once been driven from the field. It is known 
to all who hear me, that the fierce and terrible onset of 
Tarleton 's legion on this memorable day was first received 
by the Carolina militia under the gallant Pickens. 
After a short but firm struggle, they were overpowered 
and forced to give way. The impetuous shock of the 
enemy was then nobly withstood by the Virginia and 
Maryland troops under the accomplished and distin- 
guished Howard. At this moment a bold and suc- 
cessful charge was made by the cavalry under their 

BRAVE AND DARING COLONEL, WlLLIAM WASHINGTON. 

Immediately the militia were rallied and gallantly 
returned the onset which they had received — whilst the 
whole army, urged by the example, and inspired by 
the soul and spirit of the illustrious Morgan, com- 
pleted the total overthrow of the British forces. Nothing 
was now seen on either side by the English soldiery and 
officers, but defeat, discomfiture and disgrace. The in- 



G8 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

fantry quickly threw down their arras 'and cried for 
quarters — quarters which might have been refused their 
victors had the scales of battle been changed. Colonel 
Tarleton, instead of returning with General Morgan, in 
triumph, to take breakfast with him, as he had vainly 
threatened, was seen scampering most heroically down 
yon long, beautiful plain, with the remnant of his 
cavalry, overwhelmed by their own confusion and 
fright. This blustering Colonel had no doubt seen and 
felt enough of "the old Wagoner" and his brave army, 
without pressing them further with his hospitality. 

The American officers who commanded in this battle 
were already known to fame for their long-tried services, 
devoted patriotism and heroic deeds. The heights of 
Quebec and the plateau of Saratoga had recently been 
the theatre of Morgan's glory and renown. He had risen 
from an humble origin, had served in the ranks, and in 
the capacity of a wagoner in Braddock's war, and was 
now second in command of the Southern army. He 
was endowed by nature with a bold, frank and noble 
spirit, and had early cultivated a disinterested devotion 
to his country, which made him the admiration of all who 
knew him. Whilst gallantly leading on to a desperate 
charge in the assault upon Quebec, he was captured by 
the enemy, who were struck with his noble daring, fine 
appearance and commanding person ; and on finding his 
rank to be only that of a Captain, they immediately 
offered him the commission of a Brigadier General in the 
British service, which he spurned with the indignation 
of an insulted Patriot. Immediately after the Battle 
of the Cowpens he was forced by ill-health to retire from 
the army to his farm and family in Virginia, where he 
lived to a good old age, honored by his country and 
venerated by his fellow-citizens. 

Colonel John Egar Howard was a young and ac- 
complished officer, burning with a noble thirst for mili- 
tary fame, and an ardent desire which was still more 
noble, of being useful to his country. He had been 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 69 

trained and disciplined in the army of Washington, and 
had already served in the Battles of Germantown, 
White Plains and Monmouth. In the Battle of the 
Cowpens, it is said he held in his hand, at one time, the 
swords of seven British officers who had surrendered to 
him. He afterwards distinguished himself again in the 
Battle of Eutaw, where he made repeated charges with 
his regiment, until he was left with only thirty men to 
sustain him in his desperate attempt to dislodge the 
enemy. With even this remnant of a brave and distin- 
guished regiment he was preparing to make another 
charge, when he was wounded, and forced to be taken 
from the field ! In private life, Colonel Howard was no 
less distinguished for his many virtues, accomplished 
manners, and extensive useful knowledge, than he was 
in the field for his courage, gallantry, and signal achieve- 
ments. During the last war, when it was proposed to 
capitulate with the enemy at Baltimore, by surrendering 
the city, the venerable Howard rose and said to the 
Council — " I have as much property in this city as any 
one man, and I have-^e sons in the army — but sooner 
than surrender to the British, I will sacrifice my property, 
and see my sons in their graves ! " 

Colonel William Washington was the nephew of the 
Commander-in-Chief of the American army, and was 
one of the first to engage in the war of the Revolution. 
He carried with him into the service of his country a 
bold, impetuous, and fearless spirit, seldom equaled, 
and never surpassed. Pie had distinguished himself at 
the North and in the South — at York Island and in the 
Battle of Trenton- at Iiantol's Bridge, and at Ashley 
Ferry. For his gallantry and good conduct in the Bat- 
tle of the Cowpens he received a medal and the thanks 
of Congress. He afterwards acquired new laurels in 
the Battles of Guilford and Eutaw. In private life, he 
was distinguished for the kindness of his heart, the 
warmth of his disposition, and his generous hospitality. 

General Andrew Pickens was a brave, gallant and 



70 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

active officer throughout the whole of the Revolution- 
ary War in South Carolina. He was one of the first 
settlers in the upper part of the State, and previous to 
the commencement of the Revolution, had been engaged 
in defending the frontiers of Carolina against the fre- 
quent incursions and depredations of the Indians. His 
services had always been of a most arduous and diffi- 
cult nature. During the most trying and perilous 
period of her history, South Carolina ever found him 
actively engaged in maintaining her rights and fighting 
her battles. He acquired fame and distinction for his 
good conduct in the Battles of Eutaw, Kettle Creek and 
the siege of Ninety-Six. For his brave and gallant ser- 
vices in the Battle of the Cowpens, he was rewarded by 
Congress with a suitable present and a tender of their 
thanks. Those who knew him best, and who had 
served with him throughout our struggle for Independ- 
ence, have said that no one possessed a heart more hon- 
est, or more devoted to his country. 

The Battle whose anniversary we are now celebrating, 
was the second in a series of victories, which resulted in 
the downfall of the British Government in South Caro- 
lina, and the acknowledgment of American Independ- 
ence. The victory on King's Mountain, in the Fall 
preceding, was the dawn of hope to the Carolinas and 
Georgia. Until that glorious event the whole Southern 
country was regarded as lost. The defeat of General 
Gates at Camden was the last and finishing blow to all 
their faint hopes. British forces and military posts 
were established in every part of South Carolina. The 
royal provincial Government was in a manner restored, 
and the citizens forced to take up arms against their 
principles, their country, and Liberty ! Even the 
Congress of the United States began to despair of the 
Southern country, and a formal proposition was made 
in secret Session to treat with Great Britain and 
abandon South Carolina and Georgia ! Strange as this 
proposition may now seem, it was advocated by one of 



BATTLE OF THE OOWPENS. 71 

the most distinguished members of Congress, and as 
devoted a patriot as the Revolution produced — the 
living Sage of Montpelier. 

But in the midst of this gloom and despondency, the 
spirit of the country was roused by the very means 
which were resorted to in order to crush its flickering 
gleam. The people of Carolina saw that instead of ob- 
taining peace and security by their submission to the 
will of a Tyrant, they only received greater outrage and 
oppression. Everywhere they witnessed the plunder of 
their property aud the murder of their countrymen. In 
many parts of the State some of the most respectable 
citizens were hung like felons, for having dared to defend 
their country against tyranny and oppression. In 
Charleston, some thirty or forty of the most distin- 
guished Whigs of that place were ruthlessly taken from 
their homes and families in the hours of the night, 
without cause or provocation, and sent into a distant 
country to endure want, privation and imprisonment ! 
Protection, most solemnly given, was shamefully violated, 
and paroles granted were withdrawn and misconstrued ! 

Grievances and sufferings like these were too much 
for human nature to bear. Want, privation and hard- 
ship, the inhabitants of this country had been accus- 
tomed to from the first settlement, in 1750, on Fair 
Forest and Pacolet. But they were the sufferings and 
privations of Freemen, struggling for an honest sup- 
port for themselves and families. Such sufferings they 
could endure, and did endure — but they could not 
become the slaves and vassals of a tyrant. Their energy 
was once more called into action. The Battle of King's 
Mountain spoke their determination. Soon after this 
gallant exploit of the Whigs of the two Carolinas under 
their intrepid Colonels, a distinguished officer was sent 
from the North to take command of the Southern Army. 
His name and his spirit seemed to diffuse new life into 
the country. Immediately, preparations were every- 
where in making to renew the war. The Battle of the 



72 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

Cowpens reanimated the drooping spirits of the people, 
and proved in the end a fatal blow to the military com- 
mand of Cornwallis. The Battles of Guilford and 
Eutaw soon followed, and an evacuation of every Eng- 
lish station out of Charleston quickly ensued. The 
noble resolution of General Greene " to re-conquer the 
Southern country, or die in the attempt" was most hap- 
pily accomplished. 

It is unnecessary for me, on this occasion, to recount 
to you the history of the American Revolution, or re- 
mind you of the battles gained and the sufferings en- 
dured by the Continental troops in the Eastern and 
Middle States. The causes which led to a separation 
of the Colonies from the Mother country, and the vic- 
tories which achieved our National Independence, are 
familiar to most of you. To relate them now would be 
like the repetition of " a thrice-told story " by one who 
is incapable of giving it any new charm or embellish- 
ment. Suffice it therefore to say, that the war was 
closed by the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
The Independence of the United States was soon after- 
wards acknowledged, and the country once more restored 
to peace. 

But it was not long before internal commotion con- 
vinced the patriots of '76 that the Confederacy of States 
which had carried them triumphantly through a seven 
years' war, and -secured to them the blessings of Free- 
dom and Independence, was a Government unfit for 
the selfish times of peace and quietness. Common interest 
and common danger no longer operated upon the States, 
and there was wanting a disinterested patriotism to 
make them acquiescent in the commands of the Federal 
Head. The National Government, under the old 
Articles of Confederation, operated upon the States, and 
not upon the people. There was no mode of enforcing 
the laws of Congress except through the medium of the 
State Governments. No great evil, however, was ex- 
perienced from this want of power in the Federal 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENK. 73 

Government whilst the States were engaged in a strug- 
gle for their Freedom and Independence. The interest 
of one, during that struggle, was the interest of them 
all. But after the restoration of peace, and the opera- 
tions of the Government becoming more complex, the 
laws of Congress were deemed unequal in their bearing 
by some of the States, and obedience refused to them — 
or, in modern language, those obnoxious laws were 
nullified by the States objecting to them. In order to 
remedy this paralyzing evil of nullification, or State dis- 
obedience to the laws of Congress, it was found neces- 
sary to form a stronger National Government — a Gov- 
ernment. which should operate directly upon the people, 
and act independent of all State authority. Such a 
Government was formed and established by the adop- 
tion of the Constitution of the United States. Under 
this Constitution the powers of the Federal Govern- 
ment were greatly enlarged and the powers of the States 
in a like manner diminished. The highest attributes of 
sovereignty were yielded to the General Government. 
The power of declaring war and making peace, raising 
an army, building a navy and coining money, etc., were 
all vested in Congress, and prohibited the States. The 
Federal Constitution provides also, that Congress shall 
guarantee to every State a Republican form of Govern- 
ment, and that no State shall have anything in her 
Constitution or laws contrary to the Constitution of the 
United States, or the laws made in pursuance thereof. 
It is further ordained, that the Constitution of the 
United States, and the laws of Congress passed in pur- 
suance of it, shall be the supreme law of the land, find 
that all State officers shall be sworn to support this 
Supreme Law. 

In order to give the Federal Government the power 
of enforcing its own laws, independent of the whim 
and caprice of the States, Federal Courts were estab- 
lished with proper judicial and ministerial officers. It 
was made the duty of these Courts' to decide "all cases 



74 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

in law and equity arising under this Constitution and 
the laws of the United States" — to decide "all con- 
troversies to which the United States shall be a party" 
— and "all controversies between two or more States." 

It will be seen from this view of the Constitution of 
the United States that the State Governments are ex- 
pressly made inferior to the Federal Government. They 
are prohibited engrafting into their laws or Constitu- 
tions anything repugnant to the Constitution or laws of 
the United States. They are not permitted to form any 
Government in derogation of republican principles ; and 
it is made the express duty of Congress to see that no 
sueli governments are adopted by the States. In all 
controversies between two or more States, they are 
bound by the decision of the Judicial Department of 
the Federal Government. 

To say that the States are still equal, sovereign and 
independent, is surely a solecism in language, which 
none but a mind clouded by passion and prejudice can 
for a moment believe. Instead of having an equal in- 
fluence in legislation, or an equal voice in managing the 
affairs of the nation, one State has a representation in 
Congress of forty members, and another only one member. 
Can there be an equality where four States have a 
greater number of representatives than twenty others? 
The States are not equal, either in wealth or population, 
nor should they be in Federal power. Instead of being 
sovereign, the States can do nothing which indicates 
sovereignty in the ordinary acceptation of the term. 
No State can declare war, raise an army, build a navy, 
or coin money. To call a Government sovereign which 
possesses none of these high attributes of sovereignty, is 
a gross misapplication of terms. That the States are 
not Independent is obvious from their being compelled 
to submit to the "supreme laiv" of another Government, 
from their being prohibited forming any other than a 
Republican Government, and from the liability of their 



BATTLE OF THE (OWPENS. 75 

citizens to be taxed and dragged into war by another 
power against the will of the State. 

It matters not what may have been the relative situa- 
tion of the States previous to their adoption by the 
Federal Constitution. Whether they were sovereign, 
equal and independent at that period does not in any 
way affect our present National Government. It is ad- 
mitted that they were distinct and separate communities 
under the Colonial Government, that they were equal 
under the old Articles of Confederation, and that they 
were independent and sovereign in adopting the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. But having accepted this 
Constitution for their Government, they yielded a por- 
tion of their power, rights and privileges in the same 
way that a man does, in a state of nature, when he con- 
sents to become a member of society. The only ques- 
tion for the consideration of the States in adopting the 
Federal Constitution was, whether it was more to their 
interest,.prosperity and happiness as a people, to retain 
their separate independence and sovereignty, or, by 
giving this up, to become united members of one 
great nation. The people of one State, in giving 
the Federal Government a control over themselves, ac- ' 
quired a partial control over the people of twelve other 
States. They also become entitled to the protection of 
these other States when their rights and interests were 
violated by any Foreign Power. 

Although the States were separate communities under 
the Colonial Government, equal members under the old 
Articles of Confederation, and independent sovereignties 
in adopting the Constitution of the United States, yet 
they always regarded themselves, and were so regarded 
by the world, as one people, having a common origin, 
speaking the same language, and possessing similar 
laws and institutions. The Colonies were under the 
same mother country, and all governed in the same 
manner. There was, too, a constant intercourse and 
emigration from one to another. Relations of the same 



76 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

families were to be found in all of them. Then, so far 
as a common origin, identity of interests, similar laws, 
and a similar Government, the ties of kindred and a 
constant intercourse between each other could make sep- 
arate communities one people, the Colonies had 
already assumed that character previous to the American 
Revolution. The oppressions of Great Britain were 
aimed at the Colonies as one nation, they were felt as 
one nation, and resented as one nation. The war 
was begun by the Colonies as one people, the battles 
fought and the victories won were claimed by them as 
one people, and their Declaration of Independence was 
made and acknowledged as the work of one peopAe. 
There was not, during the whole revolutionary struggle, 
a single battle of any importance in one State, in which 
the troops from other States did not participate. The 
signal victory which we are now so proudly commemo- 
rating, was not achieved by South Carolina alone, but 
by an army composed of troops from Virginia, Mary- 
land, North Carolina and other States. The superior 
commanding officers were all, save one, from out of 
South Carolina. In fact, it was by a Northern army 
commanded by Northern officers, that the soil of Caro- 
lina was re-conquered and her citizens rescued from Brit- 
ish bondage. 

It is passing strange that any one acquainted with 
the nature of our Government, and familiar with all 
these glorious events of our Revolution, should boldly 
assert that his love of country is confined to the narrow 
limits of South Carolina, and that he owes no allegi- 
ance to that Government which achieved his independ- 
ence, and which now protects his rights from foreign 
aggression, and honors and dignifies him with the 
proud character of an American citizen ! I am happy 
to know that such a feeling is of recent date ; and I 
hope to God it may be of short duration. Patriotism 
it is not, for in this holy and sacred feeling of our 
nature there is nothing selfish, nothing narrow and 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 77 

contracted. It may be such a love of country as found 
a place in the ambition of Napoleon when he said, " I 
am France." Perhaps these modern patriots would say 
— have they not said it? — We are South Carolina, 
and South Carolina is our Country ! 

The citizens of the United States for years after the 
adoption of the Federal Constitution, everywhere exerted 
themselves in manifesting their extended patriotism. 
The feelings cherished by them all were for " their 
country, their whole country, and nothing but their 
country." No one then thought of appropriating only 
a portion of this Union for his country. The patriotism 
of the South was not confined to State limits, nor 
bounded by Mason and Dixon's line. The citizen of 
Carolina was proud to know that he was a countryman 
of Hancock and Adams, of Washington and Franklin. 
The names of Jefferson and Lee, of Greene and Warren, 
were as dear to him as those of Pinckney and Rutledge, 
or of Marion and Sumter. He knew and felt that he 
was as much the countryman of the one as he was of the 
other. The liberty which he enjoyed was neither 
acquired by the North nor the South, the East nor the 
West, but by the united exertions of them all. 

Surely this was the feeling, and this was the patri- 
otism with which South Carolina engaged in the last 
war. No sailor of her's had been pressed and torn 
from his country. But she then felt that the gallant 
Tar of New England was her countryman, and it was 
to avenge his rights that she so nobly urged, through 
her Representatives in Congress, the Declaration of War. 
Had she then acted on those principles which her Legis- 
lature now professes, the sailor would have continued to 
linger in his dungeon whilst her citizens were enjoying 
an inglorious peace ! 

The Union of these States was also, until within a few 
years past, regarded by all as the Great Palladium 
of our Liberty and Independence. We were taught to 
look to it with a holy and devout reverence. No one 



78 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

dared to think or speak of it except in terms of love anil 
admiration. If any other feeling than this were dis- 
covered in the bosom of any one, the linger of scorn was 
pointed at him as an enemy to his country, and a 
recreant to those liberties which he had inherited from 
his ancestors. As well might a man have proclaimed 
his enmity to religion, and his detestation of freedom, 
as to have shown an unfriendly impulse towards 
this sacred Union ! There was also a rivalry in express- 
ing our attachment to the General Government. In 
South Carolina, we prided ourselves in our national 
feelings. 

But, fellow-citizens, how sadly have times changed ! 
Those feelings are no more ! That extended patri- 
otism which once elevated our feelings and ennobled our 
souls, is gone ! That holy and devout reverence for the 
Union once so fondly cherished, is now lost ! The Gen- 
eral Government, instead of being admired, sustained 
and supported, is openly reviled, denounced and despised. 
The Union, instead of being looked to as the palladium 
of our Liberty and National Independence, is boldly 
assailed with destruction. That patriotism which would 
extend itself beyond the narrow limits of South Carolina, 
is regarded as Treasonable, and attempts have been 
made to punish it as Treason ! A dissolution of the 
Union has been solemnly provided for by a Convention 
of the State ! Yes, fellow-citizens, that very feeling and 
spirit which met with universal execration when discov- 
ered lurking within the walls of a Hartford Convention, 
has been openly vaunted by the State of South Caro- 
lina, and honored and admired as patriotism ! 

What, fellow-citizens, has been the cause of all this? 
Is there a man within the sound of my voice who does 
not know, to his heart's sorrow? I ask if there be a 
town, village or hamlet in Carolina, where the Demon 
of Nullification has made its appearance without 
poisoning and blighting all that is sacred in friendship, 
all that is patriotic in feeling, and all that is lovely and 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 79 

estimable in society ! Friendship, love of country, the 
ties of kindred and the feelings of religion, have withered 
in its presence, like life and vegetation before the fabled 
Upas ! It has substituted discord for peace, not only in 
the halls of legislation, but in the family circle, and the 
very sanctuary of God ! 

It is not my purpose, on this occasion, to enter into 
any refutation of those wild, absurd, and disorganizing 
heresies which have recently been embodied and yclept 
" the doctrine of Nullification." Their best refutation 
is a clear head, an unprejudiced mind, and an honest 
heart. But I cannot forbear to remark that, in the 
development of this doctrine, we have seen what the 
world never before witnessed — a mighty and powerful 
effort to change the fundamental principles of a Govern- 
ment by mere sophistry and metaphysical reasoning! — 
The history of South Carolina for the last five years 
will show to posterity genius and talents, industry and 
assiduity — worthy of a better cause — laboring to restore 
those very evils which, under the Articles of Confeder- 
ation had well-nigh proved the destruction of liberty 
and the utter futility of all our revolutionary toils and 
suffering. Wonderful indeed have been the exertions 
recently made to overturn this Fair Political Fabric ! 
But more wonderful still has been the infatuated 
success of this unholy work ! 

Not long since we saw our own South Carolina — 
foiled in her new sophistry and metaphysics — boldly 
arraying herself against the U. S., then wreaking her 
disappointed vengeance on a minority of her own citizens ! 
By the magic of this same spirit of Nullification we 
have had invented new Oaths of Allegiance, and new 
Bills of Treason, for the purpose of entrapping the con- 
sciences and crushing the spirit of Freemen ! Although 
we have lived happily and prospered for the last fifty 
years under the old constitutional Oath, a new one is 
now to be required, in order to prevent our patriotism 
extending itself beyond the Savannah river on the one 



80 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

side, and the western mountains and eastern swamps of 
Carolina on the other. For what was this Oath of 
Allegiance intended, if it was not for the purpose of 
weakening the bonds of this Union, and confining to a 
single spot that patriotism which should be as broad as 
our country f I ask if this amendment of the Constitu- 
tion was not made avowedly to teach us — yea, swear us 
— that our first and highest duty is to South Carolina? 
This principle established, the Sovereignty of the State 
must follow, and a rapid stride has been made towards 
the dissolution of the Union. 

I cannot perceive, fellow-citizens, that the objection- 
able features of this Oath have been removed by the late 
" Compromise " between the two parties in the Legisla- 
ture. The Union party were opposed to the Oath 
because the word " Allegiance " was construed to mean 
an undivided and exclusive allegiance. They contended 
that they owed allegiance to both Governments, but that 
their highest allegiance was due the United States. The 
Nullifiers, on the other hand, asserted that allegiance was 
indivisible, and due only the State. With this construc- 
tion of allegiance it was impossible for the Union party 
to take the Oath. And instead of this construction being 
abandoned by the Nullifiers, they still assert and contend 
for it. In the Compromise, they have only said that 
the allegiance mentioned in the Oath does not interfere 
with the Constitution of the United States. This is 
acknowledging nothing more than what they have hith- 
erto contended for. According to their views, we owe 
no allegiance whatever to the United States ; and conse- 
quently, by swearing exclusive allegiance to the State, we 
cannot be acting in violation of any duty or obligation 
under the Federal Constitution. But the Union party, 
believing that their highest allegiance is due the United 
States, cannot take an Oath of exclusive allegiance to South 
Carolina without violating their paramount duty under 
the Federal Constitution. 

It must appear from this view of the subject, that the 



BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 81 

"Compromise" has not touched the true point at issue 
between the two parties — the nature of allegiance, and 
whether exclusive or divisible. If the Union party had 
been allowed to construe the Oath for themselves, they 
never could have objected to it. With their understand- 
ing of allegiance as being due both Governments, they 
could not hesitate about swearing to "be faithful and 
true allegiance bear the State." For in bearing true 
allegiance to the State, they were not prevented bearing 
even a higher allegiance to the United States. But the 
great danger was, that after taking the Oath with this 
meaning, a different one might be given to it by the 
Courts. And surely we may yet be placed in this 
dilemma. 

If it had been admitted in the Compromise that alle- 
giance was due the United States or that allegiance 
and obedience were synonymous, no objections could 
have been urged against the adjustment. And if the 
Appeal Court will now decide that allegiance is divisi- 
ble and due both Governments, all conscientious scruples 
on the part of the Union party will be removed. This 
decision that Court would be bound to make, or decide 
that the Oath was unconstitutional. If any other 
decision were made, it would be reversed by the Federal 
Courts. 

There is no one more anxious than the humble indi- 
vidual who now has the honor of addressing you, to see 
our country once more restored to peace and quietness. 
I am sure no one has greater cause to wish peace — for no 
one has experienced more fully the effects of discord and 
excitement. But I must confess that I cannot entertain 
any strong hopes of peace whilst I see the spirit of 
Disunion still stalking abroad in our country. Wher- 
ever my eyes turn, from the late Inaugural of the Exec- 
utive down to the humblest newspaper paragraph, I 
can see an effort to establish those very principles against 
which we have all along been contending. The inde- 
pendence, sovereignty and equality of the States is 



82 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 

claimed. The right of State interposition is asserted. 
Allegiance of a 'primary, paramount and exclusive nature 
is maintained to be due the State. Sectional jealousies 
and sectional prejudices are most assiduously fostered and 
cherished. The General Government is denounced in a 
spirit of bitterness and sarcasm, at war with every feeling 
of respect or regard for it. These ''signs of the times" 
are surely no harbinger of peace to the lovers of the 
Union, or the Union itself. 

I know that the charge of disunion is indignantly 
denied by those who have espoused the doctrine of Nul- 
lification. But it is in vain for men to tell me that they 
love this Union when I see them raising their parri- 
cidal hands against it. It is folly for men to talk thus, 
and at the same time declare that if the Union were 
dissolved it would pour an unprecedented flood of wealth 
and prosperity into the Southern country. Can those 
who supported the Ordinance of Nullification, providing 
for a dissolution of the Union, have any love for that 
Union ? As well might we be told that the parricide 
loves his father when he is plunging a dagger into his 
bosom ! 

It has been said, fellow-citizens, that "the^n'ce of 
Liberty is eternal vigilance." I would ever 
have you bear in mind its sacred truth. Let the maxim 
be engraved on your hearts, and handed down to your 
posterity. Be vigilant, not only of those in power, but 
doubly watchful of those who are ambitious of pov)er. 
There never will be wanting, in any age or country, 
those who would grasp the sceptre in the name of 
Liberty. It is a trite maxim, that tyrants always 
start demagogues, and that demagogues end in becoming 
tyrants. The advance towards power is never open and 
direct, but always convert and insidious. 

If any people on earth ought to be vigilant of their 
rights, surely the American people ought to be, for no 
other people in the world are so free, so happy, and so 
prosperous. But none are more exposed to internal 



BATTLE OF THE COAVPENS. 83 

discord and commotion. There is not in any other 
country the same latitude to ambition, or the same 
scope for faction. We have twenty-four Governments 
in one, extending over a vast territory, and in some 
measure diversified in interest. Hence it is possible for 
faction to assume the form of a regular government, and 
for disappointed ambition in one sphere to have an op- 
portunity of wreaking its vengeance in another. If the 
people of this country be destined to lose their Liberties, 
it must be effected by the State Governments through a 
dissolution of the Union. The National Government 
is too foreign in its operations, and has too weak a hold 
upon the affections of the people ever to prove danger- 
ous to FREEDOM. 

In conclusion, I would exhort you, fellow-citizens, 
in the name of your Country, in the name of Liberty, 
and in the name of Almighty God, to look to this 
sacred Union — reared by the wisdom and cemented 
with the blood of your fathers — as the bulwark of 
your freedom — as the palladium of your Liberty — 
as the very existence of your National Independence 
and your prosperity and happiness as a people. 
Let your last and dying words be those of the venerable 
sage and patriot of Quincy— " The Union — Liberty 
— and Independence — one and inseparable — 
noav and forever." 



ADDRESS 

Delivered before the Literary Societies of ERSKINE COLLEGE, Abbeville 
District, S. C, on the Fifth Anniversary, Sept. 18, 1844. 



An illustrious poet has said, more in the spirit of 
philosophy than of song, that "the proper study of 
mankind is man." The wisdom of this remark can but 
strike the mind of every one. It is not only the proper 
study of man to know his own faults and imperfections, 
to find out his own intellectual powers and ability, so 
that he may govern his passions and evil propensities, 
and cultivate judiciously those gifts of mind and body 
which God has bestowed upon him, but it is proper that 
he should study the lives and characters of his fellow- 
men, see their faults, and learn to imitate their virtues. 

Nothing can conduce more to the improvement of the 
young mind, than the reading and contemplation of the 
lives of great men — men who have borne an illustrious 
part in the affairs of this world. It is by knowing and 
studying their virtues, their noble deeds and heroic 
daring, that we are inspired with emulation and encour- 
aged to imitate their noble examples. In the history of 
such men, we are taught by example to turn from vice, 
and to admire and love virtue. We see how great and 
happy they have become, how much they have been 
honored, and what noble rewards they met for their well- 
doing in this life. And although in many instances 
their cotemporaries may have been ungrateful, yet suc- 
ceeding generations have never failed to do them justice. 

It is said that men are known and to be judged by 

the company they keep. That there is something in 

human nature which has a tendency to adapt itself to 

the circumstances which surround us, must be obvious to 

85 



86 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

every one. And it is perhaps fortunate that we are so 
constituted — otherwise our unhappiness and discontent 
would be greatly augmented in this life. Is it not some- 
thing, then, to be in company with the wise and great 
who have gone before us ? In the study of biography 
we are in such company. We are made familiar with 
their lives, actions and thoughts, and they leave their 
impress upon our own characters and feelings. 

No man ever read the autobiography of Franklin, 
and studied his character, without feeling himself a 
wiser and better man. The young, entering upon the 
trying and busy scenes of this world, feel themselves 
stimulated and encouraged by the trials and difficulties 
which beset the early path of that sage benefactor of 
mankind. In the character of Franklin there was a 
rare combination of wisdom, simplicity and greatness, 
without one feeling of envy or unkindness towards his 
fellow-men. His sole object in this life seems to have 
been to do good to others, and to prepare himself for 
doing the greatest good. There is no one whose life is 
more worthy of being read, or whose character can be 
studied to greater advantage. 

He rose from the humblest walks of life, without 
education, and without the aid or assistance of any one, 
to be, in the language of the Earl of Chatham, " an 
ornament to human nature, and the admiration of all 
Europe." The secret of his rise and greatness was his 
industry and integrity of purpose. They naturally and 
necessarily lead to the cultivation of those other virtues,, 
which so beautifully adorn his character. And there is 
scarcely one in which he did not excel. He knew well 
that no one could be great or useful without industry, 
no matter what may be his talents or genius. 

Let me here remark, that this principle cannot be too 
strongly impressed upon the minds of young men. In 
every pursuit of life, industry and application are every- 
thing. The human mind is so constituted that we 
cannot be altogether inactive. Employment of some 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 87 

kind we must have. If not usefully and wisely- 
employed, we shall certainly be engaged unwisely or 
viciously. Hence the absolute necessity of selecting 
some useful pursuit in life, and early learning habits of 
industry and study. 

The industry of Franklin was as remarkable as his 
success in life was wonderful. Whilst an apprentice 
boy he lived on bread and water, in order to have time 
to read whilst his companions were gone to their meals. 
He was equally industrious in after life, wherever we 
see him, whether as an editor of a newspaper, the col- 
onel of a regiment, a member of congress, the embas- 
sador at foreign courts, or the sage and philosopher 
amidst the learned societies of Europe. He was a man 
of great observation as well as industry, and no 
opportunity escaped him, either at home or abroad, in 
noticing and treasuring up the remembrance of every- 
thing which came before him. In this way he made 
many of his most important discoveries in natural phil- 
osophy. He tells us that he reaped the truth of a 
proverb which he was early taught by his father : 
" Seest thou a man diligent in his calling he will stand 
before kings and princes." He had the honor not only 
of standing before many kings and princes, but even 
that of sitting down at the same table and dining with 
some of them. 

Franklin's benevolence and justice were equal to his 
industry and economy. No one had the good of man- 
kind more at heart than he had ; no one ever labored 
more assiduously to improve the condition of his fellow- 
men. He practised what few seem to know, that the 
most acceptable service we can render our God is that of 
doing good to one another. He refused to take out 
patents for his important discoveries in the useful arts 
because they were discoveries which would lead to the 
comfort and benefit of mankind, and to the free enjoy- 
ment of them he would lay no restrictions. So high 
was his sense of justice that he gave to charitable and 



88 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

public purposes all that he had saved from his salary 
whilst iu the employment of his country. 

Franklin united in his character the simplicity of a 
child with the wisdom of the sage. His boldest and 
most brilliant experiments in natural philosophy were 
conducted with a simplicity truly amazing. A silk cord, 
a key, and a piece of brown paper, were the only appa- 
ratus used by him in drawing down the lightnings from 
heaven. 

The character of Washington is a noble and proud 
model for the study of the patriot and hero. History 
can give us no other example at once so perfect and so 
illustrious. He was an utter stranger to that feeling 
which has darkened the character of so many who have 
rendered great services to their country. He possessed 
a proud purity of purpose and magnanimity of spirit 
which never permitted him to entertain one selfish feel- 
ing — all that he did was for the good of his country, 
wholly and solely. He lost sight of himself altogether 
whilst in the service of his country. His greatness 
sprang from and rested on a pure heart and unerring 
judgment. He made no pretensions to the brilliancy of 
genius or the wisdom of learning. His only ambition 
was to be useful to his country. He cared not for power, 
and looked with indifference on mere honors. He 
accepted office only to render service to his country. 

In the character of this great man there is one feature 
which we cannot study too much. Like Franklin, his 
aim through life was to master himself and have the 
control of his own feelings and passions. He was by 
nature a man of violent temper, strong feelings and pas- 
sions. They would have often led him astray but for 
his command of himself. And his self-control was as 
perfect as his ambition was spotless. 

How few are there in this world who make it their 
study to control and master their own passions and bad 
feelings ! And yet how important is this study in the 
life of every one. How much of evil, how much of dan- 



EESKIXE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 89 

ger, and how much of misery and ruin should we avoid, 
if we were to do so. Franklin's self-scrutiny carried 
him so far as to make him keep a diary of his faults 
and errors. He not only rose in the morning with a 
determination to do well, and restrain all of his evil 
passions and propensities, but at night he enquired of 
himself whether he had done so, and wrote down every 
omission. 

In the lives and characters of most great men, we shall 
find that their greatness is too often sullied by some 
weakness or glaring faults of character. Few men are 
perfect. But we may profit as much by the faults of 
great men, as by their virtues. Like dark spots on a 
bright picture, we see them the more readily, and more 
deeply regret them on account of the brightness of the 
picture. 

Such must be the feelings of every one in contemplating 
the character of Lord Bacon, who has been justly styled 
u the wisest, greatest, basest of mankind." He was 
endowed by nature with a mighty intellect, a genius 
which seemed to encompass the whole circle of human 
science. He had amassed treasures of learning which 
no one man ever before possessed. And yet, with all 
his genius and learning, he possessed weaknesses and 
faults which would have sullied the character of the 
humblest man who lived in his day and time. One 
would naturally suppose, too, that such a man, possess- 
ing a mind imbued with so much wisdom and philoso- 
phy, would soar above the ordinary vices and frailties 
of our nature. But not so. Lord Bacon has been 
charged with base ingratitude to his friend and patron, 
the Earl of Essex. He not only forgot all the magnifi- 
cent presents which the noble Earl had ever made him, 
and all the generous acts of kindness which he had 
received at his hands when poor and humble, but he 
sought the blood and life of his patron with all the 
insolence and vengeance of a malignant and unprinci- 
pled persecutor. He has likewise been charged with 



90 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

bribery and corruption whilst discharging the high 
duties of Lord Chancellor of England. 

That these charges are true, to the extent to which 
they have been made, may admit of some doubt. For 
his conduct towards the Earl of Essex, there are some 
excuses offered by his biographer. But no excuse can 
palliate the crime of ingratitude so wanton and so foul. 
That he received money from suitors whilst Lord Chan- 
cellor is very certain ; but it was then the custom and 
habit of that court. And although Lord Bacon never 
refused money which was offered him as a bribe, he 
nevertheless decided all of his cases according to law 
and equity, without being influenced by the bribe which 
he had pocketed. 

The great faults in the character of Lord Bacon 
grew out of his want of firmness — a natural defect in his 
character, which no genius nor learning could supply. 
But for this infirmity, terrible as it proved in its conse- 
quences, his character would in all probability have 
been as bright as his genius was illustrious. He wanted 
firmness to resist the overtures and commands of his 
sovereign. Owing to this, he engaged in the prosecu- 
tion of his early friend and patron, instead of boldly 
resigning his office, and giving up all future honors at 
the Court of Elizabeth. Owing to this want of firm- 
ness, he was induced, by the threats and persuasions of 
King James and his infamous minister, the Duke of 
Buckingham, to plead guilty to all the charges of high 
crimes and misdemeanors which had been preferred 
against him. Had he possessed the high, indomitable 
courage which should have belonged to his genius, he 
could have defended himself with great plausibility, if 
not with entire success. But then the odium which 
fell on his head would have had to be borne by the king 
and his favorite minion. 

Without firmness and high moral courage no man can 
act correctly no matter how pure his principles may be. 
Without firmness no man is to be depended on in any 



EESKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 91 

great emergency. He may know the proper course to 
pursue, and resolve to pursue it, but he will not be able 
to resist the importunities and threats of those who 
would mislead him. 

In his philosophy, Lord Bacon manifested as much 
boldness and originality as he did meanness and sub- 
serviency in politics and law. This was because he had 
not to contend with his fellow-man. He was left in 
the field of philosophy to his own genius. And it is 
strange that one should have the boldness to explore the 
mysteries of nature, and to pry into the highest works 
of his God, and yet want firmness enough to resist the 
importunities of an unprincipled courtier. However 
corrupt Lord Bacon may have been in law and politics, 
or friendship and morals, he was perfectly pure and 
correct in his philosophy. In other matters, he may 
have sought honors, or been mercenary in his feelings, 
but in this his great system of philosophy, he sought 
only truth. 

Lord Bacon lived in the most illustrious age of Eng- 
lish history, and was surrounded by many of the greatest 
and most remarkable men the world ever produced. 
Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were his co temporaries. 
Lord Coke was his great rival at the bar and his victor 
at the shrine of beauty. The learned, brilliant and 
accomplished Sir Walter .Raleigh flourished at the same 
court, as did the equally unfortunate Essex. But the 
genius of Bacon was towering invisibly high above them 
all — no one approached him, and no one was to be com- 
pared to him. He stood alone in the greatness of his 
learning and the splendor of his mighty genius. 

To pass from the character of Lord Bacon, the great 
statesman, lawyer and philosopher, to that of Napoleon 
Bonaparte, the hero and conqueror, is easy and natural, 
although they differ so widely in many of their essentials 
of greatness. Bonaparte, without any learning, to be 
called by that name, possessed a genius more gigantic, 
an intellect more mighty, than ever before fell to the lot 



92 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

of human nature. No one can read his life and study 
his character without being struck with awe as to the 
extent of his genius and ability. What others learned 
by hard study and laborious research, he seemed to have 
by intuition. He had scarcely ever read a legal princi- 
ple in his life, and yet in the formation of the Napoleon 
Code, he showed himself more familiar with the prin- 
ciples of law than the wisest and most learned lawyers 
of France. As a civil ruler he never had an equal. It 
is doubtful whether all the sovereigns of the earth, from 
the creation of the world to the present time, could fur- 
nish, if their rarest and highest gifts were selected, the 
materials to compose so great a governor of mankind 
and ruler of nations as Napoleon Bonaparte. 

As an orator few men ever equaled him, if we are to 
judge of eloquence by the effects which it produces on 
the audience. Bonaparte would say more striking things 
in a speech of ten minutes than was ever said in an hour 
by Cicero or Demosthenes. He could accomplish the 
intended effect of a speech before the polished Roman 
or Athenian would be able to get through the exordium. 
As a writer his style is worthy of being taken as a 
model by every one who wishes to express his ideas in 
the fewest words and in the most forcible manner. He 
is also the most voluminous writer the world has ever 
produced. It is said by Allison in his charming history 
of Europe, that Napoleon wrote more than Voltaire, 
Bolingbroke and Sir Walter Scott all put together. 
This he did in the midst of his army on the field of 
battle, and whilst governing, with the minutest particu- 
larity, the varied interests of the millions who were 
subject to his sway. 

As a general he surpassed all the conquerors who had 
ever preceded him. It is true that Alexander was a 
younger man than Napoleon when he made his Eastern 
conquests, and the countries subdued may have equaled 
those conquered by Napoleon in population and extent 
of territory, but the Persians, Egyptians and Indians 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 93 

were an effeminate and luxurious people, and never have 
been able to withstand a hardy, disciplined and organ- 
ized force. The conquests of Great Britain at this time 
in a portion of that country, show the facility with 
which an army may pass through these Eastern nations. 
There seems to be something in the climate of a South- 
ern people which enervates and enfeebles them. 

Hannibal may, with more propriety, be compared to 
Napoleon as a general. There is some analogy between 
them and their fortunes. They both had to contend 
with the same difficulties in many instances, and they 
both fought against disciplined forces, experienced gene- 
rals and a highly civilized people. They were both 
highly successful for a time, and were both ultimately 
conquered ; but Napoleon knew how to improve on a 
victory and secure a country when once conquered. 
This the Carthagenian seems not so well to have under- 
stood. 

Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte were very 
much alike in their characters and conduct as generals — 
attending to the comforts of their soldiers, enduring 
fatigue, exposing themselves to danger, robbing the con- 
quered countries to maintain their own armies and cor- 
rupt their own citizens. They were alike in the rapidity 
of their movements and the secrecy of their attack. 
But Caesar's conquests were all made over a barbarous 
and half-civilized people, except the conquest of his own 
country. In point of intellect there may also be insti- 
tuted some sort of comparison. Julius Caesar was one 
of the first orators of Rome — perhaps next to Cicero 
himself. He was also a beautiful writer, as may be seen 
by his Commentaries. That he was a wise and success- 
ful governor of mankind cannot admit of a doubt. 

The great fault in Bonaparte's character was his 
selfishness. This led to all the errors of his life. He 
was by nature kind-hearted and affectionate. There 
was nothing of cruelty in his temper or disposition, 
except when it become necessary to promote his own 



94 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

selfish views. He loved Josephine ardently and pas- 
sionately ; she had shared with him his humbler fortunes, 
and had patiently endured with him the fatigues of 
some of his campaigns ; but he put her away and mar- 
ried a woman whom he had never seen, because she was 
the Arch Duchess of Austria and he was anxious to have 
an heir to his throne. He loved his brothers, and made 
them kings and princes ; and yet he treated them like 
slaves for the gratification of his own ambition. He 
loved his officers and crowned them with honors, wealth 
and distinction ; he was as kind as a father to his 
soldiers, and has been seen administering with his own 
hand to their humblest wants on the field of battle ; he 
studied the comforts of his army with a philanthropy 
which would do credit to a Howard ; he has been known 
to yield his own horse to his sick soldiery, and expose 
his life in the hospitals of Egypt attending to their 
comforts. But in order to gratify his unhallowed ambi- 
tion to gain a battle or conquer a nation, or add a new 
laurel to his brow, he would sacrifice officers and men 
by thousands and hundreds of thousands. 

In one respect he was certainly the opposite of Lord 
Bacon. There was no want of firmness in his character. 
His courage was indomitable. Nothing could shake it. 
To his mind there were no terrors. He cared not for 
the combined forces of Europe. With an army of fifty 
thousand men he would undertake to conquer one of 
three hundred thousand. We see him, almost solitary 
and alone, escaping from Elba, and throwing himself 
into the midst of an army of ten thousand, sent to 
capture him. Without an army, and without a dollar 
in his treasury, we see him putting himself in hostile 
array to the combined forces of England, Austria, 
Prussia and Russia. Neither power nor wealth, nor the 
smiles of the beauty, nor the fascinations of glory and 
fame could make him yield or falter in his resolution. 

But for his selfishness, Napoleon would have been 
one of the best, as well as one of the greatest of men. 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 95 

His fame would have been sullied by no crime, though 
it might have been far different from what it is in 
splendor and brilliancy. But in how many characters, 
great and small, do we see this same fault blazing forth 
conspicuously and marring and destroying all that is 
beautiful or useful in their lives. How common a 
fault is it in the character of mankind. We find it more 
or less in the heart of every one. How hard, therefore, 
should we endeavor to guard against it. In the char- 
acter of Bonaparte, how fatal was it. With what 
crimes did it cover him all over. For twenty years it 
destroyed the peace of Europe, over-turned Empires, 
subdued nations, and destroyed the fairest and richest 
cities of the earth. 

There is much to study in the character of Dr. John- 
son, the great moralist — many traits to admire and some 
to condemn. His life, as written by Bos well, is, 
perhaps, the most admirable specimen c^f biography to 
be found in the English language. It makes us 
thoroughly and minutely acquainted with the man. 
And how different does Dr. Johnson appear in the pages 
of Bos well from any character which we may form of 
him from his own writings. In fact this great leviathan 
of literature had two characters — the character in which 
he wrote, calm, dignified and philosophical — and the one 
in which he spoke, which was impatient, violent and 
rude, approaching vulgarity. He was overbearing and 
insulting in his conversation and intercourse with his 
fellow-men. But in his writings he acts and speaks the 
moralist and philosopher in every line. His style of 
writing is stiff and formal, showing great labor of 
thought in the formation of his sentences. But he con- 
versed in a free, easy and natural style. 

Dr. Johnson was a man of great learning and ability, 
great labor and industry, but not regular in his studies 
or mental efforts. He was a most kind-hearted and 
charitable man, but he had no respect for the feelings of 
others. No man would relieve physical want or suffer- 



96 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

ing more cheerfully than Dr. Johnson, or make great- 
er sacrifices to do so ; but he would inflict the greatest 
mental anguish without being moved, and do it with a 
deliberation truly savage. He was a man of great and 
sincere piety, but his religion was not free from the 
blindest superstition. With all of his strength of intel- 
lect he was possessed of weaknesses which would be 
laughed at in a child. He believed in ghosts and would 
always enter the house with a particular foot first, never 
being known to enter with the other foremost. He was a 
very patriotic man, but he most cordially despised those 
who differed with him in politics, although they were 
equally patriotic with himself. Such were some of the 
inconsistencies in the character of this great man, and they 
are found in some measure, in the character of every one. 

Dr. Johnson had great confidence, as well he might 
have, in his virtue, morality and piety. He was a 
philosopher, and could advise others to look with 
indifference on this life and all its charms and pleasures. 
He was wedded to no absorbing pleasure, and had no 
strong ties or attachments to bind him to this world. 
And yet he could never contemplate death without the 
greatest horror. The idea of dying would always fill 
his mind with terrors unspeakable. 

But the great fault in his character was his want of 
manners, his violence, his rudeness and his coarseness. 
If he had tried as hard to improve his temper and 
manners as he did to treasure up learning, he might 
have left behind him a more enviable character; one 
which we could study and imitate to much greater ad- 
vantage. The scholar and learned man is too apt to 
disregard the study and practice of those courtesies and 
amenities of life which make our intercourse with each 
other pleasant and agreeable. Manners are to be ac- 
quired as well as science and literature, and they are just 
as important to us through life. 

One of the proudest and noblest characters in English 
history is that of John Hampden. He was a gentleman 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 97 

by birth and education. He was a gentleman in 
manners, feelings and intercourse with his fellow-men; 
a country gentleman of learning, talents, high honor and 
noble patriotism. He was a bold and disinterested man, 
modest and unassuming; he never thrust himself 
forward in the world. When a great and terrible crisis 
came in the affairs of his country, he cheerfully took the 
position of danger and responsibility ; he placed himself 
at the head of those who were contending for the consti- 
tutional rights and liberties of England, and nobly did 
he sustain his position. His character may well be 
studied. ]t is a model for the gentleman, the scholar, 
the statesman, the patriot and the noble and disinter- 
ested man. His firm spirit and high sense of justice 
could not see the laws and chartered rights of his country 
trampled upon by a tyrannical and perfidious sovereign 
without nobly exposing his person, his fortune and his 
lite in their defence. He was the more moderate of his 
party, and the most disinterested of all who thought of 
opposition to Charles the First. But no sooner did he hear 
that the great privilege of an English Commoner, that 
of granting supplies, was to be taken from him, and 
taxes levied in the shape of ship money, than he deter- 
mined not to pay those taxes, however trifling his share 
of them might be. Unfortunately for his country, un- 
fortunately for English liberty and the cause of 
humanity, he fell in the first skirmish which took place 
between the King and his Parliament. For purity of 
purpose, devotion to the principles of constitutional 
liberty, high and unflinching firmness in defence of those 
principles, he has had but one equal ; that was Wash- 
ington; and like Washington, his public career is fault- 
less. Well may he be taken as the patriot model. 

The character of the Earl of Chatham, the great 
Commoner of England, is that of a proud patriot, 
possessed of all the greatness of a bold and fearless 
statesman, brilliant and overpowering in his eloquence, 
but with none of the simplicity of true greatness. Every 



98 ERSKLN'E COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

thing which he did, every word which he uttered, was 
done for effect. He was, indeed, as his critics have 
said of him, a stage actor. His whole life was a piece 
of acting, but it was noble, brilliant and dazzling. He 
was, however, a pure patriot, incorruptible, and if ambi- 
tious of power, it was only for the purpose of serving 
his country more effectually. 

The eloquence of Chatham was of the highest order. 
The speaking of no man perhaps ever produced a more 
grand effect on his audience. His denunciations, his 
sarcasm, his scorn, were terrible and overpowering. 
Much, however, of the effect which his speeches pro- 
duced, was no doubt owing to his manner. He spoke 
to a few hundred persons and not to the English nation. 
His speeches were not to be reported, and therefore his 
only care was about their immediate effect. He 
believed with the great Athenian orator, that action 
was everything where a speech was only to be heard. 
But action is nothing when the speech is to be read, and 
all speeches are now made with that view. There 
can be no doubt that this fact has had a most fatal 
effect on modern eloquence. No longer do we witness 
in the halls of legislation the fire and energy of Demos- 
thenes or the thunder and lightning of Chatham. In 
their places, we have a cold and verbose eloquence 
which, instead of firing up and carrying off the feelings 
of the audience, only tends to make them more dull 
and lethargic. 

The difference between listening to a speech and read- 
ing it cannot be better illustrated than by reference to 
the speeches of Edmund Burke and Patrick Henry. 
The English language does not afford speeches more 
profound, more philosophic, more brilliant or more 
eloquent than those of Burke. His style is indeed rich 
and magnificently ornate, but the statue is worthy of 
the drapery. His argument and illustrations are as 
able and as beautiful as his language is ornamental. 
Whilst reading his speeches, we know not whether 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 99 

most to admire, his profound reasoning or his rich and 
gorgeous style. One would suppose from reading these 
speeches that the eloquence of such an orator would 
have been irresistible and overpowering — that the still- 
ness of death would have prevailed whilst one of them 
was being delivered in the House of Commons, and that 
crowds would have gathered from all parts of the great 
metropolis of England to hear them. But how different 
was the fact. Burke could never get a respectable 
audience to listen to one of his speeches. The announce- 
ment of his intention to speak was literally a clearing of 
the House. Even friendship and respect for the 
speaker could not induce many to bear the infliction of 
his dullness. One of his speeches, that on American 
taxation, was said to be so dull that an intimate friend 
could not endure its delivery, but sneaked out of the 
House of Commons under tables and benches to pre- 
vent being seen. The next morning, however, when 
that speech was reported in the London papers, this 
friend not only read it, but wore out the newspaper in 
reading it over and over again. 

How different are the speeches of Patrick Henry. 
The thrill of his eloquence has become traditionary in 
Virginia, and yet tradition cannot tell us what he said. 
The effect is remembered, and has been repeated from 
father to son, but the words were forgotten as well as 
the sentiment or idea expressed. His powers as an 
orator were, however, irresistible. No one ever thought 
of leaving the Virginia House of Burgesses whilst 
Patrick Henry was speaking. Nor did his audience 
think of anything else whilst he was speaking, except 
what fell from his lips. He held them spell-bound, 
physically and mentally. Their thoughts, their reason, 
their judgment, and their feelings were all, for the time 
being, surrendered to him, and he made them think, feel 
and act as he pleased. 

Fortunately for the fame of his eloquence few of his 
speeches have been handed down to us. Those that we 

LoFC. 



100 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

have, and some of them were regarded as his greatest 
efforts, are so destitute of all the essentials of great 
speaking and eloquence, that they would do no credit to 
a school boy. Whilst reading them we naturally 
inquire of ourselves whether it is possible such speeches 
could have come from the Virginia Demosthenes ; and 
above all, whether they could have produced the 
wonderful effects they did on the people of Virginia. 

In the Virginia debates on the adoption of the Fed- 
eral Constitution, we have the speeches of Patrick 
Henry, Chief Justice Marshall and James Madison, 
thrown side by side. Henry was incomparably the 
most eloquent of the three, if we judge from the repu- 
tation they have left behind them. But it will not do 
to compare their written speeches. We had as well 
think of instituting a comparison between the efforts of a 
young Sophomore and those of a profound statesman 
and orator. 

We have few of the speeches of Lord Chatham. 
Those that we have are more the speeches of Johnson 
and the other reporters than they are of Chatham. 
None of his speeches were written out by himself, or 
even corrected by him. They must, therefore, be badly 
reported ; but after making these just allowances they 
fall very far short of his reputation as an eloquent and 
powerful debater. It is said that Lord Chatham was 
nothing in reply — that he did not care for the last word 
in debate, which was always a matter of so much import- 
ance to his great rival, Lord Holland. Like Demos- 
thenes, he could say nothing unless he had thought 
beforehand on the subject. 

This trait in the character of certain great orators 
deserves our serious consideration. It is said that 
Demosthenes never could be induced to take a part in 
any discussion without previous preparation. When 
called on by the Athenians to reply to some one who 
had spoken, he kept his seat, and could not be induced 
to speak. But Demosthenes was a mere orator. He 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 101 

was not, like Cicero, an accomplished scholar and pro- 
found statesman — a man of great learning and science. 
Hence the reluctance which he had to speaking without 
preparation. It is idle to suppose that any one can 
speak well on a subject which he has not thought of 
and studied at some period of his life. And, on the 
contrary, it is an easy matter for any one to speak on a 
subject familiar to his mind, and which he thoroughly 
comprehends. Nothing can be more erroneous than the 
idea that some men are more eloquent without any pre- 
paration at all. If they have been eloquent on the spur 
of the occasion, it is always owing to the fact that the 
subject has long occupied their thoughts and feelings. 
If they had not studied the subject of their speech the 
day before, they had the year before, or at some pre- 
vious time. 

It was thought of Sheridan, that many of his most 
magnificent bursts of eloquence were impromptus — that 
they were made extempore, and without previous thought 
or preparation. But instead of this having been the 
case, it was afterwards discovered that he had written 
out at length all of those eloquent speeches which 
seemed to have been the production of the moment. 
He had, however, studiously concealed his labor and 
preparation from his associates. Such, too, will be found 
to be the case with all ready and eloquent speakers. It 
is a mistake to suppose that any one can be great with- 
out an effort — and equally mistaken is the notion that 
any one can be eloquent without study. 

Eloquence and liberty are congenial. They have 
always flourished together. The one cannot exist with- 
out the other. And the world knows nothing of elo- 
quence, except as it existed in Greece and Rome, and 
still exists in England and America. The French 
nation never produced an orator until the spirit of lib- 
erty burst asunder the chains which had so long enslaved 
that people. The first germs of French eloquence are 
to be found in iheir Revolutionary assembly. 



102 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

Mirabeau is, perhaps, the first Frenchman who 
deserves the name of an orator, and he was by far the 
greatest, as well as the first. His eloquence was of the 
most powerful and commanding order. He governed 
the National Assembly from the time he first took his 
seat in it to the day of his death, with absolute power. 
He was a man of great talents, great boldness, com- 
manding person and huge, hideous, though intellectual 
head and face. He was a nobleman by birth, but had 
been rejected by his own order in the elections. He 
then became the representative of the people, and swore 
vengeance against that nobility from whose confidence 
and society he had been expelled. During this stormy 
period of French history there arose many orators and 
eloquent men. They disappeared, however, as soon as 
the tyranny of Robespierre had gained the ascendancy. 

On the accession of Napoleon to power, he soon sup- 
pressed what little of eloquence had again sprung up in 
the French Chamber of Deputies. But he was the great 
and munificent patron of literature, the arts and sciences. 
And how different is the spirit of literature from that of 
eloquence. The one seems as naturally to seek the quiet 
and stillness of despotism as the other does the rough 
and stormy violence of liberty. 

In the existence of great men there is one thing 
remarkable. If we look into ancient and modern his- 
tory we shall see that most great men have existed in 
clusters. They have seldom appeared solitary and alone, 
but have always had cotemporaries and associates in 
their greatness. Homer and Hesiod, the most ancient of 
poets, and still the most remarkable, were supposed to 
have lived about the same time. Herodotus, the father 
of Historious, was che cotemporary of Thucydides and 
Xenophon, two of the most beautiful of ancient histo- 
rians. Sophocles, Euripides and JEschylus, the most 
distinguished dramatic poets of Greece, flourished about 
the same era. In philosophy, there were living at the 
same time, Socrates and Plato — the tutor and pupil 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 103 

teaching the immortality of the soul, and inculcating 
the sublimest principles of morality and virtue. Demos- 
thenes flourished with many orators, Lysias, Isocrates 
and others, who would have been more conspicuous but 
for his own great and overshadowing eloquence. He 
was also the cotemporary of Aristotle, the most distin- 
guished of ancient philosophers. And Aristotle was 
the friend and tutor of Alexander, the greatest captain 
and conqueror of antiquity. Themistocles, Aristides 
and Alcibiades, the most eminent of Grecian statesmen, 
were all cotemporaries and rivals. 

If we examine Roman and English history we shall 
find the coincidences of greatness at particular eras 
equally as remarkable. Cicero, the greatest of 
Roman orators, was the cotemporary of Julius Csesar, 
the greatest of Roman generals. The Augustan age of 
Rome was distinguished by a galaxy of great names — 
great in everything but eloquence. The capital and 
mistress of the world had then lost too much of the 
spirit of liberty for eloquence to flourish within her 
walls. But she was great in literature, science, refine- 
ment and civilization. Horace and Virgil at this 
period lived, and wrote their immortal poems. Many 
others might be mentioned. 

In England, I have already referred to the age 
of Queen Elizabeth, when Lord Bacon, Sir Edward 
Coke, the Cecils, Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, Ben 
Jonson and others, almost equally illustrious, lived 
and flourished. I have also spoken of another period 
of English history which produced the Earl of 
Chatham, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and 
Lord Holland. Charles James Fox, who has been 
called the Demosthenes of England, and William Pitt, 
the great statesman, who became Prime Minister of 
England at the age of twenty-four, were the sons 
of Lord Holland and the Earl of Chatham, and may be 
referred to the same age. Dr. Oliver Goldsmith was 
also their cotemporary, than whom the world has pro- 



104 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

duced few poets more beautiful, or prose writers more 
elegantly simple and natural. About the same era 
there lived Burns, the immortal ploughman of Ayrshire 
and poet of Scotland. The age of Queen Anne is 
another period in English history, bright with a galaxy 
of illustrious names. Addison, Pope, Swift and Steele 
were amongst those who adorned and elevated the 
literature of England at that time. 

If we were to examine the histories of France, Ger- 
many, Italy and Spain, we should find coincidences 
equally as remarkable. The history of America, too, 
would afford many instances. I will mention one. It 
is near us. The District of Abbeville has produced 
four men, who are now living, and one of whom would 
be enough to have immortalized an age or a nation. 
The proudest period of Roman greatness would have 
been adorned by such a man as Langdon Cheves. For 
greatness of intellect, profound wisdom, boldness and 
purity of purpose, he has no superior. He has dis- 
charged the duties of every station which he has filled 
with an ability which has never been surpassed. ' As a 
Judge, he was learned and profound ; as a member of 
Congress he displayed great wisdom, and an industry 
and ability which have been seldom equalled ; as a 
financier, at the head of the great banking institution of 
the country, he evinced a boldness, a sagacity and wis- 
dom which have never been surpassed. The honor of 
his birth is due to Abbeville District — the city of 
Charleston, however, claims the double honor of having 
distinguished, and been distinguished by him. 

John C. Calhoun, as every one knows, owes his birth 
to this District. Had he been born in England, instead 
of the United States, he would have graced the bright- 
est period of her history. As an orator and parliamen- 
tary debater, he would have ranked with the Foxes and 
Pitts. As a man of genius and a brilliant statesman, 
he would not have been surpassed by the proudest 
names of which England can boast. In private life he 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. . 105 

has always sustained a character pure and spotless. 
His career in Congress was a most brilliant one. He 
entered the House of Representatives a very young- 
man, immediately preceding the declaration of war, and 
his devotion to business, united with his genius and 
ability, soon placed him at the head of that body, filled, 
as it was, by the greatest men the country afforded. 

General MeDuffie, though not a native of Abbeville 
District, was educated and brought up in it, and now 
resides here, after having long represented the District 
in Congress with distinguished honor to himself and 
country. As an orator, his bold and fearless eloquence 
at the bar, in the House of Representatives, and in the 
Senate of the United States, has placed him amongst 
the most distinguished speakers of this or any other 
age. For many years he had no equal, no rival in the 
halls of Congress. He stood, as it were, alone, the 
master spirit of that great assembly, towering far above 
his compeers and associates. 

James L. Petigru is a native of Abbeville District. 
He is known only as a lawyer, and an upright, pure 
and noble-hearted man. Like Sir Samuel Romily, he 
has devoted himself to his profession, and in learning 
and ability he is surpassed by no one, either in the 
United States. or England. The resemblance between 
him and Romily is not altogether professional. There 
are many traits in their characters strikingly similar. 
They were both of French descent, and rose from the 
humbler walks of life. There is a simplicity, a benev- 
olence and a pureness in the character of both which 
we seldom meet with. They were both devoted to their 
profession, and cared not to mingle in public affairs. 
Like the great English lawyer, Mr. Petigru is the 
admiration of his friends and associates. 

There are many others, natives of Abbeville District, 
who might be named, filling high places in this and 
other States. When we see such a cluster of great men, 
all springing from one District, at one and the same 



106 . ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDEESS. 

time, well may that District claim to be the Athens of 
South Carolina. Well may she, like the Roman 
matron, when asked for her jewels, point to her sons. 

But Abbeville has now given another claim to this 
distinction. She has not only sent forth her sons, like 
the proud city of Greece, to fill the highest offices 
within her own and the neighboring States and the 
Confederation, and to receive the highest and noblest 
honors which their country can bestow, but she has now 
erected a College, where her sons, and the sons of her 
neighboring Districts, and the adjoining States, may 
reap the advantages of a thorough and complete educa- 
tion. No higher evidence can be given of the virtue, 
intelligence and intellectual attainments of any people, 
than the establishment of schools and colleges. Nor 
can any stronger guarantee be offered that a people will 
remain wise and virtuous. 

The founders and patrons of Erskine College will 
long receive the gratitude and thanks of the country. 
Their sagacity and wisdom were shown in the location 
of this institution. It too frequently happens that where 
schools and colleges are founded in towns and cities, the 
temptations to dissipation and extravagance are so great 
that it may well be questioned whether the students 
derive more of benefit or injury from their collegiate 
course. Here they are removed from all such tempta- 
tions, and their only pride and ambition must be to 
excel each other in their studies. The foppery and frip- 
pery of dress cannot excite their jealousy or rivalry. 

The students of this institution will go hence, with 
their minds imbued with the great principles of science 
and literature, virtue and religion. These are the 
foundation on which their future happiness, fame and 
prosperity must depend. From other similar institu- 
tions, surrounded with all the fascinations of vice and 
extravagance, it too often happens that the student car- 
ries with him into the world, feelings, principles and 
habits, there contracted, which prove his ruin and 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 107 

destruction. The fond parent, instead of being proud 
of him, for his virtues and attainments, will have to 
repent in pain and sorrow, the disgrace and misery 
which their love and kindness have brought upon one 
of their own offspring. 

Gentlemen of the " Philomathean Society :" 
I have the pleasure of distributing amongst you the 
honors which your talents, industry and good behavior 
have won for you. Here they are — take them, as the 
just rewards of your merit — but do not look upon them 
as filling the measure of your fame and usefulness. 
Instead of having passed through the labors of your 
life, you are now only on the verge of them. Your 
education, instead of being finished has only commenced. 
The foundation is laid, nothing more. You are to build 
hereafter the superstructure. If you have been hereto- 
fore industrious, you must still be more so, as you 
advance in life, and your cares and responsibilities 
increase. Do not flatter yourselves with the belief that 
this life is one of ease and pleasure. We were placed 
here by an all-wise Being for higher and nobler pur- 
poses than the mere enjoyment of idle pleasures. 

Let me entreat you, gentlemen, by all that can endear 
you to life, to apply yourselves at once to your different 
professions and pursuits. Enter on the study of them 
immediately, and steadily persevere in them, as long as 
you live. Never permit yourselves to be disheartened, 
or to hesitate in your onward course. Industry and 
prudence, honor and integrity, will never fail to crown 
your exertions with success. 

You were told by the learned, eloquent and pious 
Judge who addressed you on your last anniversary, that 
the end and aim of all our exertions was happiness. Let 
me tell you that idleness and happiness can never exist 
together — I care not how much of wealth, luxury and 
splendor may surround you, if you wish to be happy, 
you must not be idle. It was intended by the Creator 



108 ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 

of all things that we should all labor. By the sweat of 
his brow man is to gain his livelihood. 

If you select one of the learned professions for a pur- 
suit in life, you > must not do so under the impression 
that it will not be necessary for you to labor. Your 
life, on the contrary, if you aspire to any of the honors 
and distinctions of your profession, will be one of end- 
less labor. And whilst you are pursuing your studies 
or profession, let me beseech you to avoid all tempta- 
tions which may be thrown in your way. Avoid all 
bad company, all evil or idle associates as you would 
shun vice itself. You will very often meet with persons 
high in life, surrounded by wealth and fame, who are idle 
and vicious. Shun them and their society as you would 
a pestilence. By your associates are you known, and 
every one of you must rise or fall to the level of the 
company you keep. 

The next danger I would caution you against, is that 
of giving way to your passions of anger and resentment. 
Be slow unto wrath, is the command of our holy and 
blessed religion." Never cease to bear in mind that it is 
more magnanimous to forgive than to resent an injury. 
True courage is more often tested by the one than the 
other. A coward is very often tempted to resent some 
insult or imaginary grievance, whilst a brave man only, 
has courage to forgive or pass it by unnoticed. Be sure 
that you are always right, and no circumstance can then 
force you into any personal altercation with your 
fellow-man. 

The painful and agonizing event which has so recently 
cast a melancholy gloom over the walls of this institu- 
tion, and filled your hearts with the bitterest pangs of 
sorrow and mourning, should be an awful warning to you 
through life, to restrain your feelings and govern your 
passions. In a moment of thoughtless excitement and 
passion, caused by some trivial and unimportant consid- 
eration, a fellow-student, filled with high hopes and 
expectations, has fallen by the hand of his College com- 



ERSKINE COLLEGE ADDRESS. 109 

panion, who, perhaps, had never entertained towards 
him any other than feelings of kindness and love. How 
forcibly does this sad and painful catastrophe illustrate 
to us the truth of the remark, that when, passion rules, 
reason is dethroned — we are no longer masters of 
ourselves. 

In conclusion, gentlemen, let me impress on you, as 
you are about to leave this institution, to carry with you 
and treasure up in perpetual remembrance, those great 
principles of virtue, morality and religion, which have 
been taught you by your learned President and Pro- 
fessors. If you are disposed to regard your happiness 
and prosperity in this life, and your future welfare in a 
world to come, these are the lessons to which your minds 
will most often revert, and which will be the last to 
depart from your memories. You have been long asso- 
ciated as companions and friends. Let me assure you 
that early friendships, like early lessons of piety and 
religion, are the most permanent. You are now going 
to separate, perhaps forever. In all human probability, 
your destinies may be cast in different and distant coun- 
tries. You may never meet again in this world — but 
let this be your bond of union and sympathy : At 
night, when you have offered up your prayers to God, 
and in the morning, when you have returned your 
thanks for your preservation during the past night, let 
your thoughts revert to your Alma Mater, and her 
lessons of wisdom and religion, which were taught you 
all in common. Go, prosper and be happy. My earnest 
and fervent prayers go with you. 



SPEECH 

Delivered in the House of Representatives ot South Carolina, Decem- 
ber ii, 1850, on a number of Propositions referred to the Committee of 
the Whole on the State and Federal Affairs. 



[This Speech Governor Perry said he left "as a legacy to his country 
and his children."] 



Mr. Chairman : — I desire to say a few words in 
explanation of the Resolutions which I had the honor 
to submit to the House, and which are now before the 
Committee. 

We have been told, Mr. Chairman, by every member 
who has addressed the Committee, that South Carolina 
is on the eve of a revolution, that her grievances and 
oppressions, at the hands of the Federal Government, are 
such that a free people can no longer submit to them ; 
and that she is bound in honor, and by every considera- 
tion of duty and interest, to herself ami the other South- 
ern States, to dissolve the Union, and resume her sover- 
eignty as an independent State. These, sir, are grave 
and momentous questions, and should be coolly, calmly, 
and dispassionately considered. No one, I am sure, 
desires the hasty or precipitate action of the State, on 
matters of such vast importance, involving her existence 
as a member of the Confederacy, and perhaps the princi- 
ples of liberty throughout the world. 

On these questions, Mr. Chairman, every true son of 
Carolina should speak forth his feelings — the convic- 
tions of his judgment. He should do so honestly and 
boldly, without regard to motives of selfishness or ambi- 
tion. If he differs from the majority he may suggest 
difficulties which will prompt to greater caution and 
prudence on the part of those who are steering the ship 



112 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

of State through this terrible storm. We must consider 
on the one hand that the oppressions and unjust exac- 
tions of a government should be resisted, or they will 
end in despotism ; and on the other hand, we must re- 
member that the ball of revolution, when once put in 
motion, seldom stops at the bidding of those who start it. 

Whilst I differ, sir, with those around me in regard 
to the true policy of South Carolina, I yield to none of 
her sons in my readiness and willingness to defend her 
interests and her honor. There is no tie which binds 
a man to his native State that I do not feel for Carolina. 
Here, sir, I was born and brought up. Here I have 
lived, and here I expect to die. Here, too, repose the 
remains of my ancestors, and here I desire my children 
to take root and grow. Never have I entertained for 
one moment the thought or purpose of leaving this my 
native land. There are a thousand associations in my 
mind, connected with her mountains and hills, her sea- 
board and her plains, which I never can abandon. I 
live in her bosom, and have been cherished by her 
kindness, and with her, sir, I prosper or perish. 

If I aspired to office or honor, it should be in South 
Carolina. I desire nothing and could get nothing frcm 
the Federal Government. And I know, sir, full well, 
that I cut off all hope of promotion in this State by the 
course I am now pursuing. Still, sir, I shall pursue it 
"for my country's good." I should lose my own self- 
respect if I were to yield to a popular current, no matter 
how strong, which I believed to be as fatal to my coun- 
try as the one now sweeping over South Carolina. I 
will resist it as long as I can, though I may stand alone 
in the State. 

I am not ignorant of, or insensible to, the wrongs 
and injuries inflicted by the Federal Government on the 
Southern States. They commenced many years since 
with a high and onerous tariff of protection, for the 
express benefit of one section of the country at the 
expense of another. Then came a grand and stupen- 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 113 

dous system of internal improvements, to spend the 
money raised by these high duties, and enrich the North 
and West. A National Bank was a part of the same 
scheme for making the South dependent, in all her com- 
mercial arrangements, on the North. But this whole 
American system has been broken down. The Bank 
went overboard under the administration of General 
Jackson, and so did internal improvements. The 
downfall of the tariff and the triumph of free trade were 
the crowning glory of Mr. Polk's brilliant administra- 
tion. The prodigal distribution of the public lands, 
and the odious and revolting principles of the Wilmot 
Proviso were next attempted. 

Nor am I unmindful, Mr. Chairman, of the indig- 
nities and insults of the Northern people, and their 
utter disregard of constitutional guarantees. And I 
am ready, sir, and ever have been, to defend, at any and 
every hazard, the rights of the South. But I am dis- 
posed to defend them prudently, wisely, and successfully. 
I am unwilling to see South Carolina pursue a course 
which must inevitably prove disastrous to her, and 
ruinous to the cause of the South. Whilst I shall 
defend, at any and every' hazard, the rights of the South 
and the honor of Carolina, I am also disposed, if possi- 
ble, to preserve the Union of the States. 

Whilst I feel conscious of the sincerity of my own 
heart, far be it from me to impugn the motives or con- 
duct of others. They are doubtless as honest and as 
patriotic as myself. We differ as widely as the poles 
are asunder ; but it is a difference of judgment, in pur- 
suit of the same object — the honor, happiness, and pros- 
perity of our State. They are for disunion, per se, inde- 
pendent of the late legislation on the part of Congress. 
They believe that the honor, happiness, and prosperity 
of the South would be promoted by a dissolution of the 
Union. I do not. I may, however, be in error. So 
may they. We are all liable to go wrong. I have been 
taught, sir, from my infancy, by the writings of one 



114 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

whose purity was never doubted, and whose judgment 
never failed, that the Union was the great palladium of 
our liberty, independence, safety and prosperity, and 
that we should cherish a constant, cordial and immov- 
able attachment to it. 

I do, Mr. Chairman, venerate this Union, and am 
disposed to hold on to it until dishonor or oppression 
force me, as a Southern man, to break it asunder. I 
look with feelings of horror on the happening of that 
event which no language can describe. But when it 
does come I shall be disposed to do my duty. As much 
as I love the Union, I love the South and her institu- 
tions still more, and I will defend them more cheerfully, 
more readily. I am not, however, disposed to be laughed 
out of my admiration of the Union by those who affect 
to despise and spurn its glories. Let me ask if there is 
nothing glorious in its formation and history — in the 
battles which achieved it, and the heroes who fought 
them? Who can contemplate a few thousand men 
scattered over a vast continent, rising up in the majesty 
of strength and power, to defend themselves against 
the most powerful monarchy of Europe, and say there 
is nothing of glory in this Union ? Who can look at 
the battle-fields of the Revolution, drenched as they 
were with the blood of Northern and Southern men, 
and say there is nothing glorious in them ? Who can 
read in history the characters and achievements of Wash- 
ington, Franklin, Hancock and Rutledge, and deny that 
they filled this Union with glory? Who will look at 
the progress these United States have made in human 
happiness and prosperity, and in all the moral grandeur 
of a great nation, without admitting that this has been 
a glorious Union ? Where are the battles fought and 
the conquests made by our officers in Mexico ? Is there 
nothing of glory in all these? And when the Union is 
dissolved, how shall all this glory be portioned out 
between the North and the South ? Franklin and War- 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 115 

ren, Hancock and Adams, will no longer be countrymen 
of ours ! 

Mr. Chairman, the sun has never shone on a people, 
in ancient or modern times, who have prospered and 
flourished and grown great as the American people have 
since the formation of this Union. From three mil- 
lions they have increased to twenty-five millions in lit- 
tle more than half of a century. From thirteen States 
they have grown to thirty -one. In extent of territory they 
have spread from five hundred thousand square miles to 
two millions of square miles. The forests have disap- 
peared before their footsteps, and towns and villages 
have sprung up as if by magic. In all the arts and sci- 
ences and literature of the world they are behind no 
people of their age. No country on earth enjoys the 
same civil and religious liberty. Instead of making 
war on their fellow-men, they have made war, as has 
been said by a distinguished Frenchman, against the for- 
ests and wild beasts. 

It will not do, Mr. Chairman, to break up a govern- 
ment every time it goes wrong. No government could 
last five years on any such principle. Nor will it answer 
for a people to separate from each other whenever an 
opposing interest springs up between them. Such a 
course would produce division after division, until every 
neighborhood and every family would stand forth an 
independent and separate nation. 

It has been said, sir, that the South knows the Fed- 
eral Government only by its exactions and oppressions, 
and that she has never received benefits or advantages 
from its power and influence. This, sir, is a great error, 
and a total error. The whole history of our country 
proves it. In many instances of the highest importance 
and greatest moment, the policy of the United States 
has been in favor of the South. There is the purchase 
of Louisiana, a country larger than one-half of the 
kingdoms of Europe. This immense country was added 
to the United States as a slave territory. It was pur- 



116 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

chased for the benefit of the South and Southwest. The 
purchase was made by the Union and paid for by the 
Union. In consequence of this purchase, slavery has 
been extended over several new States. Was there no 
concession to the Southern States, no benefit conferred 
on them by this vast accession of territory? Where 
has there ever been such a boon conferred by the Fed- 
eral Government on the Northern States? 

There, too, is the purchase of the Floridas, a slave- 
holding country, with climate and soil admirably adapted 
to the institution of slavery. This beautiful country, 
large enough to make a half-dozen New England States, 
was purchased and paid for like Louisiana, with the 
money of the Federal Government, raised at the North 
as well as the South. In the possession of Spain it was 
a thorn in the side of the Southern States, a refuge for 
runaway slaves, a home for hostile Indians, and inhab- 
ited by unprincipled traders from all parts of the world, 
who were constantly furnishing the Seminole and Creek 
Indians with arms and ammunition to make war on the 
people of Georgia and other Southern States. Can any 
one say that this was not a boon to the South. But for 
the Union, neither Louisiana nor the Floridas could 
have been obtained from the French and Spanish Gov- 
ernments. 

There are the Indian wars on the Southern frontier 
for the protection of the Southern people, at a cost to the 
Federal Government of near two hundred millions of 
dollars. This is surely feeling the power and influence 
of the Union, not by its exactions and oppressions, but 
by its care, protection and liberality. These "Indian 
wars were not only waged for the protection of the South, 
but have resulted in the entire removal of the Indians 
from the Southern States at a very heavy expense to the 
Federal Government. 

The last war with Great Britain was a great Southern 
measure, carried through Congress by as noble a band of 
Southern men as ever united in sustain ing the honor and 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 117 

glory of their country. It was opposed, and shamefully 
opposed, by a portion of the Northern States, because it 
prostrated their commerce, and destroyed their shipping 
interest. All the expenses of this war, and they were 
not light, were borne by the Government at the instance 
of the South, and to the gratification and glory of the 
South. 

Then came, sir, in this enumeration of important ad- 
vantages and accessions to the South, the annexation of 
the Republic of Texas, a country much larger than all 
New England put together. This vast and fertile region, 
with a climate unsurpassed, and wonderfully adapted to 
the supply of all the wants of man, and all the luxuries 
of life, was admitted into the Union as a slaveholding 
territory not more than six or seven years since. It 
was provided, too, in the act of annexation, that three or 
four additional slave States should be carved out of it. 
Does this look like a fixed and settled purpose on the 
part of the Federal Government to abolish and destroy 
the institution of slavery? Was it not a boon to the 
South of inestimable value, so far as slavery is concerned? 

With the annexation of Texas came as a necessary 
consequence, the Mexican war. This war, as well as the 
annexation, was a Southern measure, and bitterly opposed 
by a portion of the Northern people. It has crowned 
the American arms with imperishable glory, and illus- 
trated our history with a series of brilliant victories, not 
surpassed in ancient or modern conquests. A peace with 
Mexico was ultimately conquered, and another vast acces- 
sion of territory added to the Union. The immense ter- 
ritories of Utah and New Mexico, broad enough to make 
a dozen States, are thrown open to slavery, as I shall 
hereafter show. California alone, of all our conquests, 
purchases and annexations, has become a non-slavehold- 
ing country ; and this was done by people inhabiting that 
country, and not by the North or Congress. Whether 
California would have become a slaveholding State if 
she had remained, as she ought to have done, some years 



118 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

longer as a territory, is a matter of doubt. Both of the 
Senators, and one of the two Representatives from Cali- 
fornia, are Southern men. A large number of the mem- 
bers of the Convention which formed the State Consti- 
tution of California were emigrants from slaveholding 
States. The probability is, that if California had con- 
tinued a territory twenty-five years longer, the influx of 
population from the Northern States and Europe would 
have been in a still greater disproportion to that from 
the Southern States. The admission or exclusion of 
slavery would, at least, have depended on the interests 
and adaptation of the country. 

Now, Mr. Chairman, does all this acquisition of terri- 
tory manifest that illiberal and vindictive spirit on the 
part of the North and the Federal Government, towards 
the South and the institution of slavery, which we are 
constantly told exists in the Northern States and in Con- 
gress ? Or does it prove the reverse to be true, and that 
the Northern people have had sagacity enough to perceive 
that whilst they are liberal to the South in the purchases 
and acquisitions, they were pursuing their own interests 
as Americans — New Englanders — as manufacturers and 
merchants ? They were openi ng a wider field and a richer 
market for their commerce and manufactures. That 
opposing interest between the North and South which 
has been alluded to as containing the germ of disunion, 
I have always looked upon as a bond of Union. It 
necessarily creates a mutual dependence between the two 
sections. 

But, Mr. Chairman, in all these accessions of territory 
for the benefit of the South, and all these wars waged for 
the protection and to the glory of the South, the slave- 
holding States were united. By their union, with the 
assistance of the democracy of the North, they have 
always been able to coutrol the Federal Government. I 
remember to have heard Mr. Calhoun say, not many 
years before his death, that the South always had and 
always would control the government when united. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 119 

This is abundantly shown in our past history. When 
the Federal Government went into operation under the 
administration of General Washington, the South was 
united. Under the administration of the elder Adams, 
the South was divided, and the power and influence of 
the government were wielded by the North. The South 
became united again and took the control of the Govern- 
ment under the administrations of Jefferson, Madison 
and Monroe. By the union of the North and the West 
under the administration of John Q. Adams, and the 
division of the South, the control of the Government 
once more departed from the slaveholding States. It 
was restored to you by the election of General Jackson, 
but again the South divided, and a portion of the South- 
ern States was arrayed in opposition to his administration. 
The power of the Government went over now to the 
North, and from that day to this we have been divided 
into whigs and democrats throughout the Southern 
States. This division has encouraged and caused all the 
encroachments which have been made on our constitu- 
tional rights and the equality of the States. 

Since the formation of the Federal Government the 
Southern States have given to the Union nine Presi- 
dents out of thirteen, and have had a very large propor- 
tion of all the important Federal offices. Three-fourths of 
this time the South has been in power, and had the con- 
trol of the Government. Does this look like knowing 
the Government by its exactions and oppressions only ? 
It is true that whilst the high offices have been filled by 
Southern men, and the Federal power and patronage 
under the control of the South, the expenditures of 
money have been mostly in the Northern States. This 
is owing to a variety of causes, and no doubt a most 
powerful one is the eagerness of the Northern people to 
get money, whilst the Southern people are thinking of 
■office and distinction. But the situation and different 
pursuits of the two sections of country have influenced 
these appropriations in a great measure. They have at the 



120 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

North a more dense population ; they are a commercial 
and manufacturing people, and have better and more 
extensive ports and harbors than we have in the South- 
ern States. They are a mechanical people, and build all 
our shipping. The Southern people are planters and 
farmers, and have not directed their attention and wealth 
to these Northern pursuits. 

But, Mr. Chairman, shall we dissolve this Union 
because we cannot always control the Federal Govern- 
ment, and the appropriation and expenditure of its rev- 
enues ? Shall we dissolve the Union because we are 
not a commercial and manufacturing people, and have 
to call to our aid the skill, energy, and enterprise of 
Northern men to build our ships and man them, to 
import our goods and furnish all the machinery and 
manufactures which we, or the Federal Government 
may need in peace and in war? Shall we dissolve the 
Union because by divisions amongst ourselves we per- 
mit the power and patronage of the Government to 
depart from the South ? Had we not better change our 
policy, and manufacture our own supplies, import our 
own goods, and build our own ships, and man them 
with Southern men? Had we not better be united 
amongst ourselves, and devote more of our energy and 
talents to the improvement and developing the vast 
resources and hidden wealth of the Southern States? 

Shall we dissolve the Union, Mr. Chairman, on account 
of the present depressed condition of the Southern States, 
or of the United States ? Was there ever a country more 
prosperous and flourishing than the United States are at 
this time— South, North, East, and West ? Shall we 
dissolve the Union on account of those Federal meas- 
ures : the tariff, internal improvements, and the bank, 
of which we complained so bitterly some years since. 
They have been broken down and abandoned by the 
Government. You thought then, as you think now, 
that nothing but disunion was a remedy for our evils 
and the exactions of the Federal Government. But 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 121 

truth and justice and the constitution prevailed, and 
they will prevail again, and must always prevail. Our 
wrongs will be and must be redressed, and our rights 
secured and maintained. 

Shall we dissolve this Union on account of slavery ? 
Is that institution in danger, and can it be saved or 
placed on a better footing by a separation between the 
North and the South ? Never since the formation of 
the Union has slavery been safer, stronger, more valua- 
ble, more extensive, or more numerous. When the 
Union was formed, slavery existed in twelve States, and 
now there are fifteen slave States. These fifteen States 
cover an area of country twice or three times as large 
as the twelve did. At the formation of the Union, there 
were perhaps not more than half a million of slaves in 
the United States. Now there are three millions and 
a half. When this Union was formed slaves were 
worth about three hundred and fifty dollars, not more. 
But now they sell for eight hundred and a thousand 
dollars. I saw an account of the sale of some slaves in 
Charleston the other day, which ranged from one thous- 
and to twenty-five hundred dollars per head. Thirty 
years since the Southern people looked upon slavery as 
an evil, which the country would some day remove. 
Now we have looked more into our title, we are better 
satisfied with it, and regard slavery as a blessing to both 
master and slave, and are resolved that the institution 
shall remain amongst us. 

The very aggressions of the North, Mr. Chairman, 
have tended to strengthen the institution of slavery in 
the Southern States. But for these aggressions, the 
fanatical spirit of emancipation might have gone on in 
Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia. Forty years since 
Mr. Clay introduced a bill in the Kentucky Legislature 
to effect gradually the emancipation of the slave. It 
received great favor, and met no very decided opposi- 
tion. But the Convention of Kentucky have recently 
declared unanimously that slavery should be continued. 



122 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

Twenty years ago the subject of emancipation was 
gravely debated in the Virginia Legislature and in the 
Convention of that great Southern State. The debate 
which took place then, the speeches made, and the argu- 
ments used, would not now be tolerated in a slavehold- 
ing community. I can, therefore, see no just cause for 
apprehension. 

It is said, however, that in the course of a few years 
there will be free States enough to alter the Federal 
Constitution, and give Congress the power to abolish 
slavery in the States ! This apprehension is far-fetched, 
and I am surprised that any one should seriously enter- 
tain such an idea. For the last sixty years, ever since 
the Union was formed, Congress has had the power, 
the Constitutional power, according to the construction 
of all the Northern States, and according to the read- 
ing of Mr. Clay and many other slaveholders, to abol- 
ish slavery in the District of Columbia. In that district 
there are forty or fifty thousand inhabitants, and only 
two thousand slaves. And yet no serious efforts have 
ever been made to exercise this power, and abolish slavery 
in the Federal District. A bill was introduced in the 
Senate last session, and received seven or eight votes. 

Let us suppose the Constitution altered, and that 
Congress should be so mad as to attempt to abolish sla- 
very in the States, how could such a scheme be carried 
out? Would the act of Congress setting our slaves 
free be obeyed ? Could it be enforced ? We had as 
well suppose that Congress would send an army here to 
take from us our lands and houses. The one would be 
as easily accomplished as the other. But it would be 
exceedingly unwise to dissolve the Union under an 
apprehension of danger which is not likely to occur. 
The folly would be almost as great as for a man to cut 
his throat in order to keep from being killed in battle. 
We should not be constantly alarming ourselves as to 
imaginary dangers. It is enough that we are prepared 
to meet them when they do come. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 123 

I regard the dissolution of the Union as the most fatal 
blow which slavery could receive. Nothing could grat- 
ify the abolitionists more, or tend more to the accomplish- 
ment of their wicked purposes. We now have the pro- 
tection of a great and powerful nation at home and 
abroad. We should then have a weak and petty gov- 
ernment, incapable of defending our rights against for- 
eign aggressions, and the sympathies of the whole civil- 
ized world against us. Our slaves, instead of stealing 
off separate and alone, as they now cto, would go off in 
gangs to the North, and the frontier States would in a 
short time be without slaves ! Restoration then would 
be out of the question. Now the guarantees of the 
Federal Constitution afford some protection. 

But does any one suppose that so great a political 
event as the separation of these States can take place 
without some bloody wars ensuing? Can any one sup- 
pose that with so many incentives to war as there will 
be between the North and the South, the two republics 
can continue at peace ? It is impossible, in the nature 
of things. The history of men and the history of 
nations contradict such a supposition. If war follows 
a dissolution of the Union, the abolitionists will have 
an army on our borders, or in our midst, enticing our 
slaves to leave us, and to arm against us! That, they 
will leave is abundantly proven by the success of the 
British army in that way during our Revolutionary 
war. It may be that whilst we are drawn from our 
homes to defend our country, the incendiaries of the 
enemy will be stirring up a servile war in our midst ! 
We may return from battle crowned with victory, only 
to witness the death and desolation of our homes and 
families ! The scenes of the Southampton insurrection 
might be acted over again ! The most terrible wars of 
Greece and Rome were their servile wars. It is said 
that England did once threaten us with black troops 
from her West India Islands in case a war should break 
out between her and the United States. The Northern 



121 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

fanatics would not be less inclined to arm the blacks 
against us. 

It is a mistake to suppose, as some have asserted, 
that slavery increases the strength of a nation in time of 
war. On the contrary, it weakens the resources very 
much. Our slaves compose the very class of persons 
from whom the armies of Europe and the Northern 
States are drawn. Instead of constituting the material 
of our army, we have to leave in the lower country 
a body of forces to keep them in subjection. And 
we remember, too, that a revolutionary spirit always 
descends. In time of war everything is unsettled. The 
great object of our State, and of all the Southern States, 
should be peace. The blessings of peace have made us 
what we are, protected our institutions, and elevated us 
to a rank amongst the nations of the earth which 
attracts their envy and commands their respect and 
admiration. If any one doubts that peace at home 
and abroad is our policy, let him read the great speech 
of Mr. Calhoun on the probability of a war between 
Great Britain and the United States about the Oregon 
territory. 

I know that the South has suffered wrongs, grievous 
and insulting wrongs, from the North, and most unjust 
legislation at the hands of the Federal Government; 
and I am disposed to do all that man can do to redress 
those wrongs, insults and injuries. But I am not dis- 
posed to see South Carolina, or the Southern States, 
revenge themselves by their own self-immolation ! It 
will not answer, as I have always said, to break up a 
government every time it goes wrong. We should be 
in a constant revolution, like the people of Mexico— a 
prey to foreign nations, and internal murderous strifes 
and commotions ! Nor do I think that patriotism 
requires, like the honor of the duellist, that every wrong 
or insult should be wiped out with blood. We are a 
Christian people, possessing the principles of peace and 
forbearance, and I do not think it becomes such a people 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 125 

to hastily involve their country in all the horrors of a 
civil war and a bloody revolution. Circumstances may 
occur, however, which will render such a war necessary 
and proper, even for a Christian people. Let us inquire 
if such be the present state and condition of our 
country. 

The admission of California was a gross fraud on the 
rights of the South. Instead of permitting the people 
to go through the ordinary pupilage of a Territorial 
Government, preparatory for their reception into the 
Union as a State, they were ushered in as a sovereign 
at once, and for the purpose, it was supposed, of avoid- 
ing the direct application of the Wilmot Proviso to that 
vast territory. This wrong has been perpetrated under 
the Constitution, and not in violation of its principles. 
Although the South has been wronged and injured by 
this proceeding, I do. not feel that she has been dishon- 
ored. We have always contended that a people inhabit- 
ing a Territory had a right to form such a constitution 
as they pleased, and that Congress had no right to 
refuse them admission, provided their constitution was 
republican in its principles. 

But in what way should we be benefited in this 
respect by dissolving the Union ? Would it carry 
slavery into that golden region? California is now a 
sovereign State of the Confederacy, and she cannot be 
excluded by an act of Congress ; nor can any power on 
earth, save that of her own people, change or alter the 
principles of her constitution. Her boundary, too, is 
fixed, and cannot be modified or altered except with her 
own consent. The Missouri compromise line which 
was adopted by the Nashville Convention as a peace- 
offering, gives to the North all the gold region of 
California ! If we sanction that line there is very little 
south of it worth contending for ; it is said to be a 
country adapted only to grazing and the vine, and 
never can become a slave country. The gold 
region of California north of the Missouri line will, 



126 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

in all human probability, yet become a slave country. 
It is difficult to perceive on what principle slavery 
will be kept out, if a hand can make ten and fifteen 
dollars per day by his labor in the mines. Every peo- 
ple will seek their own interest, and most persons 
generally have sagacity enough to perceive it. If it 
should hereafter appear to be the interest of California 
to introduce slavery, her constitution will be altered for 
that purpose. This may be done by a bare majority 
of the Legislature, sanctioned by the people ; but a dis- 
solution of the Union would, of course, prevent any such 
change or result. 

It is a mistake to suppose that because California 
started wrong, and excluded slavery, she can never 
change her policy. As soon as the gold mines of the 
mountains, which are said to be the most valuable, are 
opened, there will be a demand for capital which is not 
necessary to work the deposite mines. Men of large 
capital will then have to engage in mining. The 
machinery and preparation will require capital. These 
capitalists will soon perceive the propriety of purchas- 
ing slaves to work their mines, instead of hiring free- 
men at fifteen dollars per day. A negro would pay for 
himself in a few weeks. The State of Illinois started 
as California did — a free State, the price of grain alone 
induced the people there to attempt to change their 
constitution and admit slavery. This change came very 
near being carried by popular vote a few years since. 
If the price of grain had continued as high as it was, 
the change would, perhaps, have been made. So it is 
possible for a people to change from a free to a slave 
State. 

But California was admitted into the Union by 
twenty-six Southern votes, and only fifty-seven voting 
against it. These twenty-six Southern men were slave- 
holders and representing slave-owners in Maryland, 
Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, and perhaps other 
States. Is it likely that, if this measure be so dishonor- 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 127 

ing to the slave States, one-third of their Representa- 
tives would have voted for it ? It is impossible. There 
is a difference, and a very strong and striking one, between 
the exclusion of slavery from a country by the people 
inhabiting the country, and by the action or legislation of 
Congress. The one is only providing for the wants 
and wishes of the community, by the people themselves, 
and the other is a dishonoring distinction by the 
General Government in favor of one portion of the 
people, at the expense of the other. The one is a 
usurpation of power, and the other is a legitimate 
exercise of it. The time only is objectionable. 

The people of Massachusetts and all the Northern 
States have excluded slavery ; and no Southern man 
feels dishonored because he cannot carry his slaves to the 
North, and there live with them. Nor would any man 
have resented the exclusion of slavery in California, if 
the people had waited a proper time before they organ- 
ized as a State. But we must remember that no such 
country as California ever before existed. She contained 
wealth and treasures in her mountains and rivers which 
gave her an importance in the eyes of the world that no 
other country could or ever did have, and which attracted 
to her bosom a population outnumbering, for the same 
space of time, that of any other new country ever men- 
tioned in history. This may well be regarded as some 
excuse for the haste in clothing California with the sov- 
ereignty of a State. 

Shall we dissolve the Union on account of the adjust- 
ment of the Texan boundary ? This bill was voted for 
by two-thirds of the Southern members of Congress. 
The vote was fifty-two to twenty-six from the slave- 
holding States. The State of Texas voted for the adjust- 
ment in both Houses, and her citizens have voted for 
the acceptance of this bill with great unanimity. The 
people of Texas had no use for the land, and were in 
want of the money. But there is a better reason than 
this for their acceptance. They had no valid title to 



128 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

the territory of New Mexico. It was a claim only, 
resting on nothing; more than the continued assertion of 
a right. Texas had never conquered New Mexico, never 
extended her laws over the people, nor had she ever a 
soldier on the soil unless he was in chains ! When 
Texas was admitted into the Union, the question as to 
her boundary was expressly reserved for settlement 
between the United States and Mexico. It is a mistake 
to say that her boundary as claimed, and including New 
Mexico, was ever recognized by the General Govern- 
ment. 

The history of this claim on the part of Texas is sim- 
ply this : The people of New Mexico had been living 
there in little villages on the Rio del Norte, for perhaps 
a hundred years, as a province of Mexico. They were 
settled on both sides of the river. Texas, which lay 
five or six hundred miles below, and extended from the 
Sabine to the mouth of the Rio del Norte, was a wil- 
derness, uninhabited, except by a Spanish settlement at 
San Antonio. The people of the United States went 
over into Texas and took out Spanish grants for this 
country, declared their independence, and asserted the 
boundary of their republic to the Rio del Norte, from 
its source to its mouth. If they had conquered the 
people living in New Mexico, five hundred miles above 
them, as they did those living at the mouth of the Rio 
del Norte, their title would have been a good one, 
derived from the sword. But they did no such thing, 
nor did they attempt any such thing. 

The people of New Mexico were conquered by the 
American army as a province of Mexico, and held as a 
conquest until peace was ratified between the United 
States and Mexico. By that treaty New Mexico, Utah 
and California were all ceded to the United States as 
an indemnity for the war. The rights of the people 
inhabiting the country were secured by this treaty. They 
are separated from Texas, not only by the space of five 
hundred miles, but by a desert, over which it is difficult 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 129 

to pass. It seems to me that there would be gross injus- 
tice in separating a people who had lived together so 
long as one province, speaking one language, guided by 
the same laws, and uniting those living on one bank of 
the Rio del Norte to a foreign people, five hundred miles 
off, speaking a different language, having different man- 
ners and customs, and separated by an almost impass- 
able desert. 

By the annexation of Texas to the United States, 
slavery was excluded from all the country north of the 
Missouri compromise line. Now the whole of that 
country is thrown open to slavery by this very act of 
Congress, of which so much complaint is made. It is 
expressly stipulated, too, that the people of New Mexico 
and Utah may come into the Union with or without 
slavery, as they shall deem most expedient, when they 
apply for admission as a State. But it is said that slav- 
ery is excluded from that country by the Mexican laws, 
which will remain of force in defiance of the Federal 
Constitution until repealed. This is certainly new doc- 
trine for the South to advance. It was certainly not 
the doctrine of Mr. Calhoun, who showed most trium- 
phantly that the Constitution and laws of the United 
States were paramount to the Mexican laws. It seems 
to me a species of absurdity to suppose that the laws of 
the people conquered shall be superior to those of the 
conquerors ! Such was not the opinion of Southern 
men when the Clayton compromise was acceded to on 
behalf of the South. If this doctrine be correct, then 
the Catholic religion, which is the established religion 
of the Mexicans, will exclude all Protestants from the 
whole of that country ! 

If Texas had no right to this territory of New Mex- 
ico, why, then, did the United States pay her ten mil- 
lions of dollars? This question is frequently asked, 
and with some reason. In the first place, the custom 
house taken by the United States from Texas was 
pledged to pay five millions of the Texas debt. This 



130 SPEECH BEFOEE THE 

is a part of the ten millions above mentioned. The 
other five millions were paid to extinguish a claim which 
had in some measure been countenanced by the course 
pursued on the part of the United States. It is no 
uncommon occurrence for a nation or an individual to 
compromise a claim, instead of fighting over it. 

The Wilmot Proviso has been abandoned in New 
Mexico and Utah. This is a concession to the South — 
a most important one. The whole of that vast region 
of country, enough to make a half-dozen States, is opened 
to slavery. Congress has guaranteed, likewise, that 
these Territories may come into the Union with slavery, 
if the people prefer it. This concession on the part of 
Congress was brought about by the united action of the 
South ; and whenever the South is united, as she was in 
her opposition to the Wilmot Proviso, she will be suc- 
cessful ; and we never can be successful unless we are 
united. It is said, however, that this is no concession, 
because slavery will never go into these territories. In 
reply, I can only say that slavery does now exist in Utah, 
and that the Mormons living there do own slaves, and 
will probably continue to own them. But the principle 
has been conceded, and it was, for the principle, made a 
point of honor by the South, that we contended. The 
great battle between the North and the South com- 
menced on the Wilmot Proviso. The North declared 
that no more slave territory should be admitted into the 
Union — the South resolved that Congress should pass no 
law excluding them from the Mexican territory. None 
such has been passed. If we are excluded by nature, 
and the country is not adapted to slavery, we have no 
cause to complain of the action of the North, or, on that 
account, to dissolve the Union. 

The Fugitive Slave bill was likewise a concession to 
the South, drawn by a Southern man, and made as strin- 
gent as the most devoted Southern man could require. 
This is certainly some manifestation on the part of Con- 
gress and the North to carry out the guarantees of the 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 131 

Federal Constitution. It is said, however, that this law 
will never be enforced, and that it will be repealed. 
Let me say that "sufficient unto the day is the evil 
thereof." When that law is repealed, the death-knell 
of the Union will be sounded. There will be no divi- 
sion then of the South. All the slaveholding States 
will be united. This union of the slave States will 
prevent its repeal. I have not the slightest apprehen- 
sion on this subject. It is said, too, that this law will 
not be enforced in the Northern States. I have no 
doubt that it will be evaded in many instances. All 
laws are. But it has already been enforced, in good 
faith, in several instances, and promptly enforced. The 
President of the United States has declared his purpose 
of enforcing the law. 

The bill abolishing the slave trade in the District of 
Columbia I once pronounced the worst and best feature 
of the compromise. A distinguished Carolinian, then 
present, high in the confidence of his State, assented to 
my judgment. We both thought it w T as a trade which 
ought not to be carried on in the Federal city ; and that 
its revolting features, as seen there, by Northern men, 
foreigners and foreign ministers, were prejudicial to the 
institution of slavery. Laws similar in many respects 
to that bill have been passed in almost every slave State 
in the Union. South Carolina has two or three times 
passed laws making it highly penal to bring slaves into 
this State to sell. Georgia made it a penitentiary offence. 
In Mississippi it is a part of the Constitution that the 
Legislature shall exclude this traffic. President Tyler, 
when a member of the Senate, from Virginia, intro- 
duced a similar bill, as he says in his letter to General 
Foote. The law does not prevent a man moving into 
the District of Columbia with his slaves ; nor does it 
prevent a citizen of the District from going out of the 
District and purchasing slaves. He may likewise sell 
his slaves. The only prohibition is that slaves shall not 
be brought into the District of Columbia for sale. At 



132 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

present they have prison pens, where negroes are s ent 
from all parts of Maryland to sell to the Mississippi and 
Louisiana traders. 

But the objections to the bill are that it is an enter- 
ing wedge for future legislation on the subject of slavery 
in the District of Columbia, and that the penalty im- 
posed is the freedom of the slave brought for sale. 
These are, and more especially the first, serious objec- 
tions to the law, and induced me to regard it as one of 
the worst features of the compromise bill. It met, 
however, the approbation of many Southern senators 
and members of the House of Representatives. 

In regard to the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave 
bill, it may be a question, and a grave question of policy, 
whether these runaway negroes ought to be brought 
back into the Southern States. They are bold, daring, 
and intelligent fellows, or they could not have made 
their escape. They may prove terrible nuisances when 
brought back and permitted to associate with the other 
slaves. I have always . regarded their escape as a sort 
of safety valve for the institution of slavery. It is a 
misfortune on the owner, but it may be a blessing to the 
community. By the laws of South Carolina no slave 
carried to the North can be brought back by his master. 

If the Union should be dissolved, how many States 
would unite in a Southern Confederacy ? It is impos- 
sible for Louisiana to separate herself from the valley of 
the Mississippi. She is the outlet for all that vast 
region of country, including one-half of the States of 
this Union. If Louisiana desired to go with the South- 
ern States, she would not be permitted to do so. She 
is part and parcel of the great valley of the Mississippi, 
and must ever remain so, politically as well as physi- 
cally. There is certainly very little prospect, either 
from present appearances or past history, of Kentucky 
and Tennessee uniting with us. This separates us from 
Missouri and Arkansas and Texas, and renders utterly 
hopeless all union with those States. The political leth- 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 133 

argy at all times manifested by North Carolina proves 
that she will not unite in a Southern Confederacy unless 
forced by the accession of Virginia. But one-half of 
Virginia is now almost as alien to us as Pennsylvania. 
She would be a border State — certainly not an enviable 
position for any member of the Confederacy. Mary- 
land is hopeless. We then have South Carolina, Geor- 
gia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, by necessity of 
her position, being cut off from all geographical connec- 
tion with the old republic. The position of Mississippi 
renders her adhesion very questionable. In feeling she 
seems to be more with South Carolina at this time than 
any other State in the Union. But her geographical 
position as a member of the great valley of the Missis- 
sippi must change her allegiance as soon as the Union is 
severed. This will leave four States. But is it possible 
for these four to agree on all the articles necessary to a 
Southern Confederacy? I doubt very much whether 
Georgia and South Carolina can ever agree on anything, 
much less on the formation of an independent Republic. 
But if they were to agree and unite with Alabama and 
Florida, and even Mississippi, what sort of a nation 
would we be in the eyes of Europe and the rest of the 
world ? 

But it is said that South Carolina must put the ball 
in motion, and secede from the Federal Union, and 
that the other cotton States will rally to her rescue. 
Did she not try this same project in 1832 of putting 
the ball in motion, and which one of the States came to 
her assistance ? None expressed even a sympathy for 
her, but all gave her the cold shoulder. Two-thirds of 
Georgia at this time are opposed to the action of South 
Carolina. So is unquestionably a majority of Alabama 
and Florida. But it is said that although these States 
may not assist us as States, yet a large minority of their 
citizens will rally to the rescue of South Carolina. 
But is that the sort of material that we want to carry on 
a war with the Federal Government ? These patriotic 



134 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

and spirited citizens would be an incumbrance and 
nothing more — unless they brought with them money, 
arms, ammunition and all the material of war. I sup- 
pose South Carolina could raise a much larger force 
than she could support three months in the service. 
Every man in the State would have to give up a large 
portion of his property to support the war five years, or 
three years. We should, in our present condition, have 
to send to the enemy, that is, the Northern States, for 
the material necessary to a war. 

If any one supposes the Federal Government will 
stand aloof and permit South Carolina peaceably to secede 
from the Union, he is certainly a most sanguine and 
hopeful patriot, and must think that a great change has 
come over the nation since the days of Andrew Jackson. 
Not three months since President Fillmore, in pretty 
plain terms, announced his purpose to whip Texas into 
what he supposed to be her duty. In regard to South 
Carolina, she would be checked-mated before there was 
a possibility of her making the second move. One 
ship would blockade the whole port of Charleston, and 
enforce the payment of duties on board the vessel 
under what is known as the Force Bill. The mail 
arrangements all broken up, the commerce of Charles- 
ton all thrown to Savannah and Wilmington, the State 
paying duties to a foreign government to support that 
government in carrying on a war against herself, her 
trade prostrate, and all her industrial pursuits inter- 
rupted, what would she do, or what could she do, but 
go back into the Federal Union ! 

It has been nearly twenty years since South Carolina 
solemnly determined in Convention, that no more 
duties should be paid, and that any attempt to force her 
was a dissolution of the Union. I opposed that move- 
ment as an impracticable one, and I now oppose this as 
equally unwise and perhaps more disastrous. I be- 
sought my State then to have a little patience, and all 
things would come right. The tariff was repealed, and 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 135 

the principles of free trade have become triumphant in 
England as well as America. I now implore South 
Carolina, as a child would beseech the parent who gave 
him birth, to pause and reflect on what she is about to 
do. I entreat her to abandon all idea of separate State 
action. It must be disastrous to her. It is not respect- 
ful to her Southern sister States. They are as deeply 
interested in this matter as she is. We ought to 
suppose, too, that they are as intelligent, as spirited, 
and as patriotic as we are. If we rush ahead of them 
without concert of action, it will excite their jealousy 
and their resentment. 

The course for South Carolina to pursue is plain and 
obvious to my mind. She should propose a Southern 
Congress and invite all the slaveholdiug States to meet 
her in consultation. Let the delegates to such a Con- 
gress be elected by the people, and go with the authority 
of the State. If any Southern State refuses to be 
represented in this Congress, the other States should 
send to her some of their able and distinguished sons 
to induce her to act in concert with the other Southern 
States. In this way a full representation of all the 
States aggrieved might be obtained. The South would 
then be united, and united, she would secure her rights 
and preserve the Union. If, however, disunion come, 
we should have a confederacy of States capable of 
defending themselves and maintaining their existence 
as a nation. 

It is the imperative duty of all the Southern States 
to meet in a Congress, truly representing the wishes and 
feelings of the people. This they should do as well for 
their protection for the future as for indemnity for the 
past. They should declare a bill of rights for the 
slaveholding States. This would let the North and 
the Federal Government know what the consequences 
of their aggressions would be. Being forewarned by 
the united South, it would put a stop to this aggressive 
policy. The Northern people are too deeply interested 



136 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

in their connection with the South to think of separat- 
ing from ns. They are dependent on the South for 
their prosperity, unrivalled as it has been, as a com- 
mercial and manufacturing people. They have a deep 
interest in the preservation of our institutions. The 
cotton which they manufacture is the product of slave 
labor. A large portion of their manufactures is pur- 
chased for the use of our slaves. The whole amount 
purchased by the South is paid for by the profits of 
slavery. 

Nothing can be more mistaken than the policy 
pursued by the South in regard to their dependence on 
the North for almost everything consumed in the 
Southern States. It should be our pride and our 
ambition to be independent of the North in every 
respect. We should import our own goods and manu- 
facture for ourselves. We should live at home, and 
spend our money at home, encourage our own mechan- 
ics, and refuse to trade with the North. In this way 
we can show our resentment and self-denial, and 
retaliate most effectually, without dissolving the Union 
or incurring the horrors of a civil war and revolution. 

It is doubtful which would be most injured by eman- 
cipation, the slave himself, the Southern master, or the 
Northern abolitionists, engaged in commerce or manu- 
facturing. No change could better the condition of the 
slave. He is happier and better provided for than he 
ever would be in a state of freedom and self-reliance. 
There are not in the world the same number of Afri- 
cans so happy and so civilized as our slaves are in the 
Southern States. Freedom to them would be a great 
evil. 

It is now almost universally admitted in England 
that emancipation in the West India Islands has been a 
curse to the slave, as well as an act of gross injustice to 
the master. This spirit of fanaticism, which first made 
its appearance in England, has pretty well run out. It 
must do so in the United States. It is not in the nature 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 137 

of fanaticism to continue. It must die away and burn 
out. Truth alone continues, and not madness. This 
abolition question has doubtless had its best days in the 
North. The equal division of the Northern people 
into Whigs and Democrats gave the abolition party the 
balance of power, and an importance which they never 
otherwise could have obtained. 

But the Southern people have had great exaggerations 
made to them on this subject. Everything has been 
told them by our members of Congress and by the press 
and public speakers, calculated to excite their feelings 
and rouse up their bitterest indignation and revenge. 
For instance, the name, the actings and doings of 
Seward, the abolition senator from New York, are famil- 
iar to every one ; but the noble, bold, and disinterested 
conduct of Dickinson, his colleague in the United States 
Senate, is scarcely spoken of or known to the people of 
the South. If the runaway negroes in the North have 
a meeting and adopt the most fiendish resolutions, they 
are published in the Southern Press, and read at our 
public meetings to excite and fan the flame of disunion. 
If an attempt is made to catch a runaway slave and 
there is a failure, it is published all over the South. 
But we hear very little of those cases in which the slaves 
were recaptured. 

If a Northern man comes forward and defends the 
South, and stands up boldly for our rights, we seem 
hardly to uotice him, and much less to thank him and 
honor him. If he does not go as far on the subject of 
slavery as we do, we denounce him and discredit him. 
The consequence is that we drive off our friends at the 
North, and act as if we wished to produce the impres- 
sion that we had none there. But a short time since 
there were meetings of thousands and tens of thousands 
in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, in favor of the 
rights of the South, the guarantees of the federal consti- 
tution and the Union of the States. At these meetings 
the most eloquent and patriotic speeches were made, but 



138 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

neither the meetings, the speeches, nor the resolutions 
have been noticed by the Southern papers, except with a 
sneer of indifference and contempt. Can it be true, sir, 
that the whole North are united against us, when we 
see such men as Webster, Cass, Douglass, Buchanan, 
Dickinson. Woodbury, and many others of the most 
popular and distinguished men there, defending our 
Constitutional rights and the Union of the States ? 

I was very much surprised, Mr. Chairman, at the 
honorable member's speech from Charleston (Col. 
Memminger), who said he had rather South Carolina 
was attached to the government of Great Britain as she 
was previous to the Revolutionary War, than to remain 
a member of this Union ! Such an expression, neither 
becomes an American nor a Carolinian, and must have 
been uttered in the heat of argument and declamation 
without due consideration. Does the gentleman remem- 
ber the conduct of Great Britain towards all of her 
possessions? Has he forgotten her magnificent scheme 
of plunder, robbery, murder and devastation in India? 
Are all the atrocious wrongs and wholesale murders in 
Ireland by British authority wiped out of the honorable 
member's remembrance? Has he forgotten the recent 
oppressions and iron rule of England in the Canadas ? 
Surely he remembers the emancipation of the slaves in 
the West India colonies of Great Britain by act of Par- 
liament, in which body the owners were not at all rep- 
resented ! And this is the government, the kingly 
crown, to which he prefers seeing South Carolina bow 
down in subjection, rather than remain a member of this 
great and glorious confederacy of States ! 

How can any one utter such a sentiment with the 
Revolutionary history of South Carolina fresh in his 
reading? The capture of that proud city, which the 
gentleman in part represents, the plundering of her gal- 
lant citizens, their cruel imprisonment, their foul murder 
and butchery, should rise up in judgment against so 
unpatriotic a sentiment. The subjection of South Car- 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 139 

olina to the military despotism of a ruthless soldiery, 
ravaged and desolated from the seaboard to the moun- 
tains, dishonored, and her soil drenched with the best 
blood of her patriot sons, should rebuke such a feeling 
uttered in the Capitol of the State. So entire was the 
subjugation of South Carolina during the Revolution, 
and so hopeless all prospect of regaining her liberty, 
that it was proposed in Congress by Mr. Madison, to 
treat with Great Britain and leave under her subjec- 
tion the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. This 
fact was mentioned to me many years since by Governor 
Middleton, who found amongst his father's manuscripts 
the notes of Mr. Madison's speech on his resolution. I 
have since seen the fact stated, I think, in the Madison 
papers. But there came a Northern man, a Northern 
General, who re-conquered South Carolina, and restored 
her to the confederacy of States. But now, a native- 
born Carolinian desired to restore her to the British 
crown, and thereby abolish her republican system of 
Government. 

It is said, Mr. Chairman, that our situation in the 
Union is precisely similar, in principle, to that of our 
ancestors as a colony of Great Britain. But, sir, there 
is, in truth, no analogy whatever. The colonies were 
without representation in the British Parliament, and 
their governors and judges were appointed by the 
crown. The right to tax them was claimed also. 
The people of South Carolina are represented in Con- 
gress, and their negroes are also represented. They elect 
their own rulers and judges, and levy their own taxes. 
Three-fourths of the time, since the formation of the 
Union, they have belonged to that majority which has 
controlled and governed the whole Republic. And 
now it has been decreed to be their time to be in a 
minority. But the wheel of fortune which is constantly 
revolving will, in all probability, in due time place 
them again in the ascendency. 



140 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

In glowing language the honorable member from 
Charleston has compared the Northern States and Eng- 
land ; and with proud scorn at the comparison, he tells 
us that England is the land of Fox and Pitt, Burke 
and Chatham, Shakespeare and Milton. But in the 
Northern States, says the gentleman, where is their 
Chatham ? They have a Seward and Hale, and a Gid- 
dings, says the honorable member, but no Fox, Burke,, 
or Pitt. The Northern States, sir, are in their infancy 
compared to Great Britain ! But they have produced 
statesmen and orators, poets, heroes and philosophers 
who would not disgrace the proud fame of England 
herself. Where is there a name more illustrious in wis- 
dom, usefulness and philosophy than that of Franklin ? 
Where did there ever exist an intellect more able, more 
powerful than Alexander Hamilton ? In Eng- 
lish history there is not a more gallant patriot than 
Warren. John Hampden was not more devoted to lib- 
erty than Hancock and Adams. Everett and Story 
and Kent will compare with the best of England's hon- 
ored names. Bancroft and Prescot are not surpassed as 
historians. In intellect and ability the proud Earl of 
Chatham was not superior to Daniel Webster. 

I think, Mr. Chairman, that we do South Carolina 
great injustice when we attempt to derive from the 
Constitution her right to secede from the Union. It is, 
sir, a higher, nobler and more sacred right than any to 
be derived from paper. It is the right of revolution 
which belongs to every oppressed people. When she 
arrays herself in battle against the Federal Government, 
and her right to do so is demanded, I should blush to 
see her refer to the Constitution for the right. Far 
better would it be for her to answer, as the English 
nobleman did, when ordered by his sovereign to pro- 
duce the title to his land. Instead of referring to his 
papers, he drew his sword and said, " this is my title." 
The absurdity of secession as a constitutional right may 
be shown bv one illustration. Louisiana was purchased 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 141 

of France, and paid for by the United States. The 
possession of that territory lying at the mouth of the 
Mississippi was absolutely necessary to the trade and 
commerce of the Western States. But by the right of 
secession the State of Louisiana could go out of the 
Union the next day after she had been purchased for 
the express benefit of the Union. She could establish 
an independent government, and tax all the produce of 
the United States passing down the Mississippi river. 
The Federal Government would have for their twelve 
millions of dollars the consolation of knowing that they 
had revolutionized and set her free. 

It is said by the honorable member from Charleston, 
that we must assert this right of secession to keep from 
being dealt with as traitors. I think, sir, with Judge 
Cheves, that where a whole people rebel, there are no 
traitors. No one was dealt with as a traitor during the 
revolutionary war. When an American, with arms in 
his hands, was captured or taken prisoner by the British 
army, he was not hung for treason, but exchanged as a 
prisoner of war. The example referred to by the gen- 
tleman to prove his position, is an unfortunate one. 

The Monmouth rebellion was confined to one or two 
counties in England. The Duke of Monmouth, a vain, 
foolish and mean-spirited illegitimate son of Charles 
the Second, raised his standard, and asserted his right 
to the throne of James the Second. He was immedi- 
ately put down and his followers dispersed. The whole 
affair was nothing more than an insurrection. James 
himself was immediately afterwards hurled from his 
throne by the indignation of the British people. 

If South Carolina should secede from the Union, I 
have no idea that the Federal Government would march 
an army here to coerce her. A more mild and more 
effectual way of treating her would be pursued by the 
President. The custom house would be removed on 
board a vessel, as designated by General Hamilton, 
whose counsel, though now powerless, was once all pow- 



142 SPEECH BEFORE THE 

erful in South Carolina. I have no idea that separate 
secession, if prudently opposed by the Federal Govern- 
ment, would cause the shedding of one drop of blood. 

But, sir, we are bound in honor to co-operate with the 
Southern States. South Carolina went into the Nash- 
ville Convention and should abide its recommendations. 
It was proposed by that body to call a Southern Con- 
gress. Let this be done on the part of South Carolina 
by electing four delegates to represent the State, and 
directing each Congressional district to elect two more. 
In the meantime, if it is seen that any of the slavehold- 
ing States have neglected or omitted to elect delegates, 
it should be the duty of the Governor to send to those 
States some of our ablest and most distinguished men 
to urge on them the appointment of delegates. 

I am willing, Mr. Chairman, to unite in any constitu- 
tional mode of resenting and redressing our wrongs. I 
am in favor of taxing Northern goods, which has been 
proposed in North Carolina and Virginia, and which 
may be done constitutionally in the hands of our own 
merchants. I will go for non-intercourse with those 
cities where this abolition agitation is kept up, and I 
think true patriotism would dictate such a course on the 
part of our merchants. I am willing for the State to 
give proper encouragement to manufacturing and the 
direct importation of goods. These measures if steadily 
pursued, and enforced with proper spirit and patriotism, 
may bring the Northern people to their senses. 

I have thus spoken, Mr. Chairman, the truth, as I 
conceive it to be, and as my duty prompted me to speak. 
I may be mistaken in my views, but they are the hon- 
est and sincere convictions of my best judgment, the 
feelings and promptings of my heart, my devotion to the 
principles of liberty and the stability of government, the 
rights of the South, the honor, prosperity and happiness 
of South Carolina. I regret deeply, painfully, my sep- 
aration from those with whom I have so long acted, but 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 143 

I cannot exchange an honest and approving conscience 
for " troops of friends." I never have, I never can 
advise a tame submission to wrong ; but I am for a 
rational and successful defence by the union of the 
South, which will redress our wrongs, secure our rights, 
and preserve the Union of the States. 



SPEECH OF B. F. PERRY, 

OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

In the National Democratic Convention at Charleston, S.C., May, i860. 



Me. President and Gentlemen of the Con- 
vention : — I thank you for this opportunity unani- 
mously awarded me by the Convention, of defining my 
position in remaining here whilst my colleagues have 
seen proper to withdraw from the Convention. First, 
however, I have a word to say to the distinguished 
gentleman from Illinois, Governor Richardson, who 
has just taken his seat. He told us the truth, a well- 
known truth, when he said that the Kansas-Nebraska 
bill was a compromise between the Northern and 
Southern Democracy on the subject of slavery in the 
Territories. That compromise proposed to take the 
question of slavery from Congress and refer it to the 
people of the Territories under the Federal Constitu- 
tion. All questions of Territorial legislation on the sub- 
ject of slavery would go to the Supreme Court, and the 
decision of that tribunal was to be final and conclusive. 
This was the compromise, as has been also just stated 
by the honorable member from Georgia, Mr. Seward. 
At the time this compromise was made, the Southern 
Democracy had an abiding confidence of their right to 
carry their slaves into the Territories, which were the 
common property of all the States, and, moreover, they 
had a conviction that the Supreme Court of the United 
States would so decide whenever the question was 
properly made. With this confidence and conviction 
on their minds, they were willing to, and did assent 
to, the non-intervention of Congress as a com- 
promise. By that compromise I am willing to stand, 
145 



146 SPEECH IN THE 

and I now ask the gentleman from Illinois to carry it 
out in good faith, by endorsing the decision of the 
Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case. If he and the 
Northern Democracy will reaffirm the Cincinnati plat- 
form, which embodied the principles of this compro- 
mise, and endorse the principles enunciated in the 
opinion of Chief Justice Taney in the Dred Scott de- 
cision, it will be acceptable to the Southern Democracy 
generally. The refusal of Judge Douglas to do this, as 
leader of the Northern Democracy, and his perseverance 
in contending for a different construction of the Nebras- 
ka-Kansas act and Cincinnati platform, has produced 
all the confusion and discord which now unhappily 
divide and distract the great Democratic party of the 
United States. 

I am not one of those who ask for Congressional in- 
terposition on the subject of slavery in the Territories. 
The South has contended for years past against Con- 
gressional legislation on this subject. They have de- 
nied the right of Congress either to prohibit or legislate 
slavery into the Territories. The right to carry our 
property into the common domain of the Union is a 
constitutional right guaranteed to us by the Federal 
Constitution, and which neither Congress nor the Terri- 
torial government can deprive us of in any way what- 
ever. Why, then, do Southern Democrats ask a slave 
code or Congressional interposition ? It is suicidal, and 
we all thought so ten years ago. Then we were appre- 
hensive that Congress would, in the formation of a Ter- 
ritorial government, attempt to exclude slavery as they 
had done on previous occasions. We felt this to be an 
outrage on the rights of the South. We contended 
that a Southern planter had the same right to carry his 
property into the Territories that a Northern manufac- 
turer had to carry his. Whether the one consisted of 
slaves and the other of machinery made no difference. 
Slaves are recognized as property, not only by the laws 
and constitutions of the Southern States, but by the 



NATIONAL CONVENTION. 147 

Federal Constitution itself, in various ways and in dif- 
ferent sections of that just and wise system of govern- 
ment. With great deference to the judgment and 
opinions of distinguished Southern Democrats, I think 
it is unwise and dangerous to go back and ask for Con- 
gressional intervention which we have been warring 
against for so many years, and have now established by 
compromises, platforms, the action of Congress and the 
decision of the Supreme Court. For one, I will abide 
by what has been done, and what has been agreed to be 
done, by the Democratic party, and I here call on my 
Northern Democratic friends to do the same. It will 
restore harmony and good feeling to the Convention, 
and once more unite the Democracy against the common 
f oe — the Black Republicans — and insure a triumphant 
victory. 

For the Northern wing of the great Democratic 
party I have the highest regard and profoundest respect. 
They have fought the battles of the South and the Con- 
stitution like gallant patriots, and have sacrificed them- 
selves in our cause. We owe them a debt of gratitude, 
and Southern honor and Southern magnanimity should 
not hesitate to pay it by yielding to them all we can 
consistently with our faith and principles. I felt deeply 
the noble and manly appeal made to the South, the 
other evening, by the distinguished gentleman from 
Minnesota, Mr. Samuels. There is neither justice nor 
wisdom in forcing our Northern friends to assume a 
position unnecessarily, which will crush them in their 
contest with the Black Republicans, and defeat our own 
hopes and expectations. We ought to give them a 
platform to stand on which they can defend and main- 
tain at home, when by so doing we sacrifice no principle. 
We have construed the Cincinnati platform one way, 
and the Supreme Court of the United States has estab- 
lished our construction by one of the ablest opinions 
ever delivered by any Court. Why, then, should we 
be so tenacious of guarding against a different construe- 



148 SPEECH IN THE 

tion by words and language, which render it odious or 
unacceptable to the North? We shall gain nothing by 
it but a Black Republican victory, which may be the 
death-knell of the Republic. 

After all, Mr. President, this question of slavery in 
the Territories is a mere abstraction. If climate and 
soil are adapted to slavery, it will go there, and if it is 
not, we cannot force it into the Territories. Like 
water, which always seeks its level, will go slavery 
where it is profitable, and nowhere else. If it is known 
or supposed that that Territory will be a free State when 
admitted into the Union, no Southern man will carry 
his slaves into the Territory to remain whilst the terri- 
torial government continues. If the soil and climate of 
a Territory are adapted to slavery, the institution will 
go there, and be protected there, without Congressional 
intervention, and in spite of it. Why, then, should we 
insist on it, at the hazard of breaking up the Democratic 
party? I can well see a motive on the part of disunion- 
ists, who indulge the delusive hope of separating the 
North from the South. But, in all truth and sincerity, 
I can assure such that they are under a delusion. This 
Union is too strong, geographically, politically and 
socially, ever to be dismembered whilst the Republic 
continues in its present advanced state of civilization 
and science. And I can, with the same truth and sin- 
cerity, declare to my Northern and Southern friends, 
that the institution of African slavery is also too strong 
in the Southern States ever to be assailed successfully 
by any power on earth. I have no alarms for the safety 
of slavery or the Union. 

I stand before you, Mr. President, an old-fashioned 
Union Democrat, born and bred such, and such I have 
continued, consistently, without faltering or wavering 
in my faith, amidst the storms of secession and nullifica- 
tion which have swept over South Carolina. I am a 
Southern man in heart and feeling, and identified with 
the South, my birth-place, by every tie that is sacred on 



NATIONAL CONVENTION. 149 

earth and every interest that can bind a man to his own 
native soil. I love the South, and it is because I love 
her, and would guard her against evils which no one can 
foresee or foretell, that I am a Union man and a fol- 
lower of Washington's faith and creed. It was as a 
Democrat and a Union man that I came into this Con- 
vention, determined to do all that I could to pre- 
serve the Democratic party and the Union of the States. 
I came here not to sow the seeds of dissension in our 
Democratic ranks, but to do all that I could to har- 
monize the discordant materials of the party. I came 
in good faith, as a Democrat, to remain here, and repre- 
sent the Democracy of South Carolina, and abide by 
the actions and nomination of this Convention. In 
honor I feel myself so bound, and if I had entertained 
other feelings and other views, I should not have taken 
my seat in the Convention. I had confidence in the 
patriotism and justice of the party to which I belong. 
If I had not I would not have made a common cause 
with them. No party can be kept together unless the 
members are disposed to yield something. Every one 
cannot carry out his own views and notions of propriety 
and justice. 

The Convention which sent me here adjourned but 
a few days since. In that Convention resolutions sim- 
ilar to those of Alabama were offered and voted down 
by an overwhelming majority. Another resolution was 
proposed and advocated with great power and ability to 
stand by Alabama, and it too was voted down by a 
large majority. I heard ho one in that Convention 
speak of any contingency on which it would be proper for 
the South Carolina Delegation to leave this Convention. 
I feel confident in saying, that I do not believe my col- 
leagues contemplated such a step when they came here. 
I know that such a feeling was cherished by others out- 
side of the South Carolina Convention. It was cher- 
ished by those who sneered at our Convention and 
scorned to come into it. Somehow or other their feel- 



150 SPEECH IN THE 

ings and sentiments have been imbibed by the most of 
my colleagues, and they have gone out of this Conven- 
tion leaving my friend Colonel Boozer and myself the 
only delegates from South Carolina. It is true that 
Colonel Simpkins, another delegate, concurs with us in 
remaining here, and would act with us if he were here, 
but he has been called home by the sickness of his family. 

In remaining here, my friend Colonel Boozer and 
myself do not regard ourselves as disobeying any man- 
date of those who sent us, or of compromising any prin- 
ciple which we or they have professed. When the 
South Carolina Convention assembled in Columbia last 
week to send delegates here, I introduced a resolution 
reaffirming the Cincinnati platform with the principles 
enunciated in the Dred Scott decision, and they were 
adopted as the platform of South Carolina. The plat- 
form just adopted by this Convention reaffirms the Cin- 
cinnati platform, but neither affirms nor repudiates the 
principles of the Dred Scott decision. It is well known 
that those principles are maintained in the Southern con- 
struction of the Cincinnati platform. In voting for 
that platform, I voted for it with this well-known 
Southern construction, sustained as it is by the Supreme 
Court. All the other resolutions adopted by this Con- 
vention were voted for by South Carolina, as the record 
shows. But because a majority of this Convention 
would not adopt a resolution declaring that it is the 
duty of Congress to intervene and protect slavery in the 
Territories, my colleagues have withdrawn with a por- 
tion of the delegates from Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Florida. The dele- 
gates from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri 
and Tennessee have seen proper to remain in this Con- 
vention. For one, sir, I am more inclined to stand by 
Virginia than by Alabama, and in doing so I think I 
have a wiser counsellor in danger and difficulty. 

I know full well that the Congressional District 
which I represent in this Convention will approve and 



NATIONAL CONVENTION. 151 

sanction the course which I have seen proper to take, 
and I shall remain here and represent that District as 
long as I remain in Charleston. With this explanation 
of my position, I conclude by tendering my thanks to 
the Convention for the opportunity offered me so court- 
eously, by them, of defining my position. 



ADDRESS 

To the Democracy of the Fifth Congressional District in South Carolina, 
May 28, i860. 



Having been honored by your delegates in the Dem- 
ocratic Convention of South Carolina, at Columbia, with 
a seat in the National Democratic Convention in Charles- 
ton, and having differed with the majority of my col- 
leagues in that Convention, I deem it proper to address 
you in explanation of my course. This is more impera- 
tive now, since District meetings have been held at all 
of your Court Houses, approving the course of my col- 
leagues in seceding from the Charleston Convention. I 
thought at the time that I was fairly representing the 
feelings and instructions of those who sent me, and that 
my course would, at least, be approved by the Conven- 
tion party of the Fifth Congressional District. Hear 
me, and judge for yourselves with candor and impar- 
tiality. 

It is well known that the recent Charleston Conven- 
tion was composed of delegates representing the " National 
Democracy of South Carolina," as distinguished from the 
" Secession party " of South Carolina, calling themselves 
the "States' Rights Democracy," who repudiated the 
Charleston Convention, and would have no representation 
in it. I thought the object of the party which assembled 
in Columbia was three-fold — to preserve the National 
Democratic party of the Union ; to harmonize and agree 
on a platform which would embody the general political 
sentiments of that party ; and to unite on suitable candi- 
dates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the 
United States. I knew that the Secession party of South 
Carolina, or anti-Convention party, were anxious to 
'53 



154 ADDRESS TO THP; 

break up the National Democratic party and sectionalize 
it, as they had no confidence in it, or desire to see per- 
petuated the American Union. The Convention party 
have always avowed different sentiments. 

In regard to the platform to be adopted by the National 
Democracy in Charleston, the Columbia Convention 
simply re-affirmed the old Cincinnati resolutions and 
the principles of the Dred Scott decision. No instruc- 
tions were given to insist on the adoption of this platform, 
and if not adopted, to leave the Convention. It was 
adopted only as expressive of the views and opinions of 
the Columbia Convention. Nothing was said about 
leaving or withdrawing from the Charleston Convention 
on any contingency whatever. Nor do I think any one, 
at that time, thought of such a course for the South Car- 
olina delegates. It was known that Alabama had in- 
structed her delegates to leave the Charleston Conven- 
tion, unless the intervention of Congress to protect slavery 
in the Territories was distinctly admitted and acknowl- 
edged by the National Democratic Convention. If the 
Columbia Convention had at that time entertained any 
such feeling or purpose, surely they ought to have 
expressed it, as Alabama did. But so far from doing 
this, the Alabama resolutions, offered in substance by 
Mr. Powell, were voted down by the Columbia Conven- 
tion ! A resolution proposing to endorse the action of 
Alabama and stand by that State, offered by Mr. O'Con- 
nor and eloquently advocated, was likewise ignored by 
the Convention ! What right had I then to suppose 
that it was expected of me to withdraw from the Charles- 
ton Convention, unless the Alabama or similar resolu- 
tions were adopted by the Convention? 

Under these circumstances I received my appointment 
as a delegate to the Charleston Convention, and in good 
faith I went there to act in concert with the great Demo- 
cratic party of the United States, and abide their action. 
The idea of separating from them, breaking up the party 
and sectionalizing the two wings of it, because the 



DEMOCRACY. 155 

Northern Democrats would not endorse and subscribe to 
the Southern construction of the Cincinnati platform, 
never entered my mind. I knew this was most ardently 
desired by those in South Carolina who refused to go 
into the Charleston Convention. Having belonged to 
the National Democracy all my life, and having always 
acted with them, I had confidence in their virtue, patriot- 
ism and honor. I went to Charleston to harmonize 
with them in a proper course as to the ensuing Presi- 
dential election. No individual, no section, can expect 
to have everything its own way, without regard to the 
wishes and feelings of others. When different views are 
entertained, some must yield for the sake of harmony 
and the success of the party, unless a vital principle is 
at stake which requires the severance of the party. Was 
this the case in the Charleston Convention? Let us 
consider it. 

It was well known before the National Democratic 
Convention met in Charleston, that there was a difference 
of opinion between the Northern and Southern Democ- 
racy in reference to the slavery question in the Territo- 
ries. There was a difference of opinion between the 
Southern Democracy themselves on the same subject. 
The Northern Democrats, generally, held that Congress 
had no power to exclude slavery from the Territories, 
nor any power to legislate it into them ; but that the 
whole question of slavery or no slavery belonged to the 
people of the Territories to decide for themselves under 
the Federal Constitution. Some of them believed that 
the Territorial Legislatures could exclude slavery, and 
others believed that they could not, under the Constitu- 
tion. All, however, admitted that this was a judicial 
question for the Supreme Court of the United States to 
decide, and when decided, was final and conclusive of the 
question, and such decision must be obeyed. This was 
the Northern creed, well known before we went into the 
Convention with them. The Southern Democracy con- 
tended that neither Congress nor the Territorial Legis- 



15b' ADDRESS TO THE 

latures could exclude slavery from the Territories, or by 
unfriendly legislation impair or destroy it when there, 
under the Federal Constitution. There were other 
Southern Democrats who insisted that it was the duty of 
Congress to intervene and protect slavery in the Terri- 
tories by the passage of a slave code. These were the 
differences of opinion and views between the North and 
South, and between Democrats in the same sections. 
They were not regarded of such vital importance as to 
prevent the whole National Democracy meeting and 
agreeing on some common platform. 

In the Charleston Convention the Northern Demo- 
crats were for re-affirming the Cincinnati platform 
which had been adopted four years ago by the National 
Democracy, and expressing a* willingness to abide by the 
construction or decision of the Supreme Court as to the 
rights of the people of a Territory to exclude slavery 
through their Legislatures. The Southern Democrats 
wished the acknowledgment of the right of Congress to 
intervene for the protection of slavery in the Territories, 
and a denial of the right of the Territorial Legislatures 
to exclude or impair slavery in the Territories. Here 
the two wings of the Democracy split and took issue 
with each other. 

The Northern Democrats insisted that the South ought 
to be satisfied to stand where they did four years ago on 
the Cincinnati platform, which declares that the sub- 
ject of slavery shall be taken from Congress and left to 
the people of the Territories to regulate in their own 
way under the Federal Constitution. They told us they 
were fighting the battles of the South in the Northern 
States, and must have some ground to stand on and 
maintain themselves against the Black Republicans. It 
would be, in their opinion, as dangerous now, on the eve 
of the Presidential election, to change their platform, as 
it would be for a General, going into battle, to change 
the flank of his army ! Defeat would inevitably follow. 
They were perfectly willing that we of the South should 



DEMOCRACY. 157 

adhere to our own construction of the Cincinnati plat- 
form, and leave them the liberty of doing the same. 
We were not asked to abandon any political principle in 
our old platform, but not to insert into it what they 
deemed a new version of it. They do not ask us to 
endorse their construction, and begged not to be forced 
to adopt ours. 

On the part of the Southern Democrats it was con- 
tended that the old Cincinnati platform denied and 
repudiated Squatter Sovereignty ; that they had always 
so construed it ; that the Supreme Court of the United 
States had decided the question in favor of the South ; 
but still, as the Northern Democrats, being hard pressed 
by the Black Republicans, had contended that there 
was a squinting at this terrible heresy in the Cincinnati 
platform, they must now give it up and abjure it for- 
ever, or be read out of the great National Democratic 
party. 

Two sets of resolutions were reported by the majority 
and minority of the Committee on Resolutions. The 
majority resolutions, which claimed Congressional inter- 
vention on the subject of slavery in the Territories, had 
the sanction of all the slave States, fifteen in number, 
and the two Pacific free States, California and Oregon. 
The minority resolutions, the old Cincinnati platform, 
embodied the sentiments and feelings of sixteen free 
States, claiming that slavery should be taken from Con- 
gress and left to the people of the Territories to regu- 
late in their own way, under the Federal Constitution 
and the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Four years ago this platform was unanimously 
adopted by the South. It was regarded by them at 
that time as sound. No objections were heard to it. 
Everywhere the South contended that they had a right, 
according to this platform, to carry their slaves into the 
Territories and keep them in defiance of all Congress- 
ional or Territorial legislation against slavery. This was 
their construction of the Democratic creed. 



158 ADDRESS TO THE 

Judge Douglas and the Northern Democrats gave a 
different construction to this platform whilst waging 
war against the Black Republicans. They contended 
that the people of the Territories had a right to control 
slavery as they saw proper, and might exclude it from 
the Territories altogether. They admitted that the 
Supreme Court was the proper arbiter, and its decisions 
must be final and conclusive. They denied, however, 
that this question had been properly before the Court in 
the Dred Scott case, or decided by the Court. 

This is a fair statement of the two sets of resolutions 
reported by the Committee and their different construc- 
tions by the Northern and Southern wings of the Demo- 
cratic party. In adopting the minority report, which 
the Convention did, and on account of which the South 
Carolina delegation left the Convention, I saw no com- 
promise of principle whatever, or any abandonment 
of doctrines which we had contended for in the last 
Presidential canvass which had carried us triumphantly 
through to victory. We still gave the same construc- 
tion to the same platform, and were further strength- 
ened in his construction by the decision of the Supreme 
Court. If we could stand on the Cincinnati platform 
four years ago, before it had received the construction of 
the Courts, I thought that we might do so now with 
that construction in our favor. It is true the Northern 
Democracy ought to have yielded to the opinion of the 
Court and our construction of the Cincinnati platform. 
They would have done so but for the consequences at 
home in their civil war with the Black Republicans. 
But surely their not doing so did not change the princi- 
ples of the platform, or our rights under the Federal 
Constitution to carry our slaves into the Territories 
and keep them there in spite of Congressional or Terri- 
torial legislation. Why, then, should we have made it 
a matter of so much importance as to break up the 
great Democratic party, and destroy the only hope left 



DEMOCRACY. 159 

us of electing a Democratic President, and crushing out 
the Black Republican party? 

The Northern Democrats did not offer or wish to 
deprive us, by any resolution or expression of opinion, 
of our construction of the platform adopted. We 
were welcome to entertain it still, and they desired to 
have the same liberty of urging their construction in 
the Presidential contest. They said inevitable defeat 
would follow if they endorsed our construction, and 
certain victory if they did not. If they had urged on 
us the adoption of their construction, as we did on 
them the adoption of ours, there would have been good 
grounds for the Southern members leaving the Conven- 
tion. But this they never attempted. 

The South Carolina Delegation voted for every reso- 
lution of this odious minority report, except the first, 
reaffirming the Cincinnati platform which they had 
unanimously adopted four years ago ! Yet, her delegates 
went out of the Convention ! Not because there was 
anything in the platform objectionable to them or the 
State, but because the Convention refused to adopt a 
resolution construing the platform as we say it should 
be construed, and as the Supreme Court has construed 
it! Whether the Northern Democracy construed this 
platform one way or the other, it does not in the slightest 
affect our constitutional rights as to carrying slaves into 
the Territories and keeping them there. 

It is said in all the newspapers of South Carolina, 
and proclaimed in all the public meetings in the State, 
that the seceding delegates were forced out of the 
Charleston Convention because the minority report, 
adopted by the Convention, acknowledged the damna- 
ble heresy of Squatter Sovereignty ! Now, is there a 
word of truth in this assertion ? Do the minority 
resolutions contain or embody anything of this doctrine ? 
Not a word. In proof of this, I suppose the authority 
of Mr. Yancey, the gallant leader of the seceding mem- 
bers, ought to be conclusive. He declares, in his great 



160 ADDRESS TO THE 

speech before the Charleston Convention, that the Cin 
cinnati platform, which had then not been reaffirmed 
and adopted by the Convention, did not countenance 
the doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty in any way what- 
ever ! This is his language : " It follows that this 
Squatter Sovereignty construction has no foundation in 
reason, nor in the letter or spirit of the Cincinnati plat- 
form !" Can language be more explicit than this? He 
had already proved by an able argument the above con- 
clusion, which may be read in pages nine and ten of his 
printed speech. Again Mr. Yancey says, in emphatic 
language : " No, sir, Mr. Douglas's doctrine is at war 
with the rights of Southern citizens, both under the Con- 
stitution and under the Cincinnati platform ! " This is 
true, and the Supreme Court of the United States has 
so decided in one of the ablest opinions ever delivered 
by any court. 

Well, then, if there is no foundation for this Squatter 
Sovereignty " in the letter or spirit of the Cincinnati 
platform," why should we have broken up the. Charles- 
ton Convention and the National Democratic party, 
because that platform was reaffirmed by the Convention 
without dotting an I or crossing a T? It is strange — 
it is passing strange ! But it may be said that although 
there is nothing " in the letter or the spirit of the 
Cincinnati platform " countenancing Squatter Sover- 
eignty, yet Mr. Douglas and his friends put that con- 
struction on it. If we were bound by that construc- 
tion and not by the construction of the Supreme 
Court, there might be some force in it. Every expres- 
sion of the human intellect may be differently construed 
by different persons. The Word of God, even, has 
been very differently construed by different religious sects. 
Is this any reason for casting aside the Bible and causing 
the various religious sects to refuse to unite in fighting 
against the Devil? The Black Republicans are the 
political devils against whom the Northern and South- 
ern Democrats must unite to fight. 



DEMOCRACY. 161 

It ought to be borne in mind that the Northern 
Democrats have no interest in this fight against the 
Black Republicans except as the friends and allies of 
the South. No constitutional right of theirs is invaded 
or threatened. They have no pecuniary interest in this 
•question of slavery in the Territories except it be 
against the doctrine they are contending for. Their 
honor is not concerned, like' that of the South, in the 
exclusion of slavery in the Territories. They are in 
this matter disinterested patriots, rallying under the 
Constitution of their country, fighting the battles of the 
South and sacrificing themselves! And yet, we treat 
them as enemies, and declare to them that we will not 
accept them as allies and friends in this war unless they 
adopt all the minutiae of our political creed! Is not this 
requiring more than a generous, chivalric ally should 
ask? 

The Black Republicans avow, in the most insulting 
terms, that there shall be no more slave territory, or 
slave States in the Union no matter how well adapted 
the climate and soil may be to African slavery. They 
declare, in fiendish terms, that slavery must be abolished 
everywhere, and that there is an irrepressible conflict 
between slave labor and free labor. On the other hand, 
the Northern Democracy say that there shall be no 
interference with slavery on the part of Congress, either 
in the States or Territories, but that it shall be left to 
the people everywhere to decide for themselves, whether 
they will or will not have slavery. When a State is 
admitted into the Union, it matters not whether she 
protects or excludes slavery. They are willing for the 
Southern people to carry their slaves into all the Terri- 
tories belonging to the United States, and keep them 
there. But if the majority of the people of a Territory 
are opposed to slavery, and attempt to legislate against 
it, then it becomes a question for the courts to decide 
whether such legislation is constitutional or not. Is 
there no difference in these respective creeds? 



162 ADDRESS TO THE 

In fact and in truth, is this right of carrying slaves 
into a Territory where the soil and climate is not 
adapted to them, where they never can be profitable or 
exist, and where a majority of the people are opposed 
to slavery, worth contending for? Much less is it 
worth while to think of breaking up this great and 
glorious confederacy for the establishment of this worth- 
less constitutional right. If the climate and soil of a 
Territory are suitable for slavery, it will go there, and 
need no protection from Congress ; and if they are not, 
all the protection that can be given by Congress and 
the Territorial Legislature will not carry and establish 
slavery there. Who would think of carrying slaves 
into a Territory to keep only while the Territorial gov- 
ernment existed, and have to remove them or emanci- 
pate them when the Territory becomes a State ? It is 
folly to think that any slaveholder will do so, or think 
of doing so unwise an act. Slavery will always protect 
itself everywhere and at all times, where it is the interest 
of the people to have it. And nothing can be more 
contemptible than to hear men who have no slaves, 
trifling politicians, bankrupts in fortune, weathercocks 
of popular opinion, and office-seekers, declaiming about 
their constitutional right of carrying their slaves into a 
Territory where they know slavery never can exist. 
And if slavery could exist there, yet, if a majority of 
the people are Abolitionists, it would be unsafe with all 
the protection which could possibly be given it by legis- 
lation. The slaves would be seduced and carried off by 
the Abolitionists in spite of all laws. 

In regard to Squatter Sovereignty, or Popular Sov- 
ereignty, as it should be termed, an odium has been 
recently cast upon it in South Carolina which did not 
formerly exist. This doctrine was first announced by 
General Cass in his famous Nicholson letter. So far 
from being offended with it, South Carolina voted for 
General Cass standing on this platform, for President 
of the United States. Again, when General Pierce 



DEMOCEACY. 163 

was nominated in the Baltimore Convention, he was 
placed on this same platform, and received the hearty 
support of South Carolina as the Democratic nominee 
for President of the United States. Again, when Mr. 
Buchanan was nominated on the Cincinnati platform, 
the very platform reaffirmed by the Charleston Conven- 
tion, in accepting his nomination, which was before the 
Dred Scott decision, however, he gave a decided Squat- 
ter Sovereignty construction to that platform. The 
following is his language: "This legislation is founded 
upon principles as ancient as free government itself, and 
• in no accordance with them, has simply declared that the 
people of a Territory, like those of a State, shall decide 
for themselves whether slavery shall or shall not exist with- 
in their limits." If this be not pure, undefiled Squatter 
Sovereignty, I know not what it is. And yet South 
Carolina voted for Mr. Buchanan unanimously ! About 
the time of Mr. Buchanan's inauguration the Supreme 
Court of the United States had made their famous deci- 
sion of the Dred Scott case. In that decision they 
declare that neither Congress nor the Territorial Legis- 
lature has power, under the Federal Constitution, to 
exclude slavery from a Territory. Mr. Buchanan 
adopted their decision in his inaugural address. That 
decision has made the Cincinnati platform all that the 
South should require or desire in reference to slavery in 
the Territories. 

I will say, further, that this doctrine of Popular Sov- 
ereignty has had an odium cast on it in the Southern 
States, to which it is not entitled, according to the theory 
and practice of our republican institutions. The pop- 
ular will must and has always prevailed in the United 
States, say and do what we please to the contrary. We 
see it illustrated every day in the practical working of 
our Government. At the South, the popular will, or 
Squatter Sovereignty, if you please, is opposed to declar- 
ing the slave trade piracy by Congress, and hence no 
convictions can be had under that law. In the North- 



164 ADDRESS TO THE 

ern States the popular will is opposed to the Fug ltlve 
Slave law, and hence we see the extreme difficulty °* 
enforcing that law, backed by all the power of the Fed- 
eral Government. Some years ago the popular will of 
South Carolina was opposed to the Tariff laws passed by 
Congress, and they were nullified by a State Convention. 
So it is in regard to a great many State laws passed. 
They are never enforced because the popular will of 
the community is opposed to them. There are hundreds 
of statutes in South Carolina which are a dead letter 
because the voice of the people is opposed to them. 
Vox populi est Vox Dei. 

This doctrine of popular sovereignty prevails not 
only in republics, but in monarchies and despotism. 
Kings and nobles, thrones and temples, are hurled into 
the dust by its breath! Constitutions and laws and 
ancient customs are crushed by its resistless fiat! In 
England the Queen and her ministry obey it implicitly ! 
As soon as the vote of the House of Commons shows 
the government to be in a minority, the ministry resign, 
or an appeal is made to the people. The French nation 
have had memorable instances in their history of the 
strength and power of popular sovereignty, in overturn- 
ing and scattering to the winds the strongest powers of 
the empire! So terrible is popular sovereignty, and all 
powerful, that courage and prowess and manhood, which 
stands undaunted in the field of battle amidst a hail 
storm of bullets and cannon balls, will cower and shrink 
before it! 

So it will be in the Territories. If the soil and cli- 
mate are in favor of slavery, popular sovereignty will 
carry it there, cherish it and keep it there, in defiance of 
Congressional or Territorial legislation excluding it. 
But if soil and climate are opposed to slavery, popular 
sovereignty will exclude it in spite of all the protection 
which the Federal Government or the Territorial Legis- 
lature can throw around it. All admit that when a 
people form their State Constitution they may adopt or 



DEMOCRACY. 165 

exclude slavery. I have already shown that no one is 
going to carry slaves into a Territory when he knows 
it will be a free State. He who does so will have a 
hard road to travel, opposed by soil, climate, Squatter 
Sovereignty and the Abolitionists. It is a road no one 
will travel, however wide and open it may be made by 
Congressional intervention. 

This bone of contention, therefore, between the 
Northern and Southern Democracy is a mere abstrac- 
tion, which will never benefit the Southern States or 
injure the Northern States in the slightest degree what- 
ever. If Congress should attempt to exclude slavery 
from the Territories where it never will go or flourish, 
the attempt should be opposed as a point of honor on 
the part of the South. And with this view, we of the 
South have contended for the last thirteen or fourteen 
years that the slavery question should be taken from 
Congress and left to the people of the Territories to reg- 
ulate in their own way under the Constitution. This 
doctrine has been at length established and settled on a 
firm basis to the satisfaction of the whole Democratic 
party. It was established by the compromise measures 
in reference to the Territories obtained from Mexico. 
It was affirmed by the repeal of the Missouri Compro- 
mise. It was so declared in the Nebraska-Kansas bills. 
Non-intervention, thus established and affirmed by 
repeated acts of Congress, was adopted as the fundamen- 
tal creed of the National Democratic party, on the sub- 
ject of slavery in the Territories. Why should we now 
desire to change it and establish the right of Congress 
to intervene with slavery once more in the Territories? 

Congressional intervention is the platform of the 
Black Republicans ! They assert the right of Congress 
to exclude slavery as Congress did, in many instances, 
till the Democratic principle of non-intervention was 
established. A portion of the Democratic party are 
now disposed to abandon this great principle of non- 
intervention, and step on to the other end of the Black 



166 ADDRESS TO THE 

Republican platform, and demand Congressional inter- 
vention for the purpose of protecting slavery ! We all 
ought to see the danger of going to Congress, in which 
the free States have a majority, to seek the protection of 
slavery in the Territories, which I have shown needs no 
protection ! For many years the whole country was 
agitated with this slavery question in Congress, and it 
was supposed that the Democratic principle of non- 
intervention would remove it entirely from both Houses 
of Congress. How suicidal would it be to throw it back 
upon Congress, and give up all we have gained in the 
last ten or fifteen years ! I, for one, am unwilling to do 
so. I hold on to the following resolution in the Cincin- 
nati platform : " The American Democracy recognize 
and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws 
establishing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, as 
embodying the only sound and safe solution of the slav- 
ery question upon which the great national idea of the 
people of this whole country can repose in its determined 
conservatism of the Union — non-intervention by Con- 
gress with slavery in State or Territory, or in the District 
of Columbia." 

Having received no instructions to leave the Conven- 
tion, and no political principle of the South having been 
denied or repudiated by the resolutions adopted, I did 
not see proper to leave the Convention. I thought my 
duty required me to stay in the Convention, and endea- 
vor to bring about a proper nomination for President 
and Vice-President. I consequently remained in the 
Convention, and cast my vote whilst there for Senator 
Hunter, of Virginia, who I regarded as embodying 
more of the true spirit of the South than any other can- 
didate before the Convention. If the other Southern 
delegates had remained in the Convention, it is likely a 
nomination would have been made entirely acceptable to 
the South. It was well ascertained that Judge Doug- 
las could not get the nomination of the Convention after 
the adoption of the two-thirds rule. Mr. Hunter, Mr. 



DEMOCRACY. 167 

Breckenridge or General Lane might have received the 
nomination. If Judge Douglas' friends had taken up 
either of those gentlemen, he would have been nomi- 
nated, had the Southern delegates remained and voted 
for him. 

In this respect, as well as in others, I think the with- 
drawal of a portion of the Southern delegates was unwise 
and unfortunate. It broke up, for the time being, the 
Democratic party, and, unless it is reunited, destroys 
the hope of a Democratic victory in the ensuing Presi- 
dential election. The States of Virginia, Maryland, 
North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri 
remained in the Convention. There were some of the 
delegates from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi- 
ana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas opposed to going out 
of the Convention. The consequence is that the South- 
ern States are now divided when they should be united. 
This is a great misfortune. It is altogether likely that 
a portion of the Democracy in the withdrawing States 
will hold conventions and send delegates to Baltimore, 
to meet in a National Democratic Convention, whilst 
other portions of the Democracy of those States will 
hold similar conventions and send delegates to Richmond, 
to meet there in convention with a portion of the South- 
ern States. This will produce factions in all the South- 
ern States, disturbing and distracting the public mind, 
without any possibility of good resulting from it. It is 
undeniable that there are two factions of the Democratic 
party at this time in Alabama, and which gave rise to 
the course pursued by the Alabama delegates. The 
same state of factions exist in Louisiana, and perhaps 
others of the withdrawing or seceding States. When 
the National Democratic Convention meets again in Bal- 
timore, the friends of Judge Douglas will be greatly 
strengthened by delegates from most of the seceding 
States. 

Instead of a united South, we now shall have three 
parties in all the Southern States — the old Whig party, 



168 ADDRESS TO THE 

or Union party, as they now call themselves ; the Na- 
tional Democratic party, and the Southern Democratic 
party. What can the South expect to do, thus divided 
and distracted by factions? She is powerless. She 
stands by to see the Black Republicans inaugurated into 
power ! If any portion of the Southern Democracy are 
looking to disunion, it is the worst course they can pur- 
sue to accomplish their purpose. If they are looking, 
as they ought, to a defence of the rights of the South, 
they are weakening and destroying the strength of the 
South. 

As a Union Democrat, I can see no good growing out 
of the Richmond Convention, in which a portion only 
of the South will be represented, and that a divided 
portion ! It is not at all likely that Virginia, North 
Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky or Maryland will be 
represented in the Richmond Convention. If there 
should be a representation from these States, they will 
be as powerless at home as a representation of South 
Carolina would be in the Baltimore Convention. Nor 
is it likely that any Northern State will be represented 
at Richmond. If they are, it will be a bogus represen- 
tation, powerless at home. 

I see that a number of the Southern senators and 
members of the House have signed an address, approv- 
ing of the secession in Charleston, 4)ut urging the seced- 
ing members to return to Baltimore and harmonize with 
the National Democracy. It seems to me it would have 
been much better for the seceding members to have 
remained in the Charleston Convention and struggled 
there for harmony in the Democratic ranks. Having 
once gone out, I do not see how they cau ever go back 
again. They should never have gone out, and the 
address should have told them so. It is inconsistent in 
its advice and its approval of their course. So are the 
letters of Toombs and Cobb recently published. 

In regard to the District meetings which have been 
held in this Congressional District, I doubt very much 



DEMOCRACY. 169 

whether some of them express the political feelings and 
sentiments of the District. Conservative men stay at 
home and avoid those meetings, whilst fire-eaters and 
politicians attend them. But whether mistaken or not 
in regard to public sentiment in this Congressional Dis- 
trict, I never was more thoroughly convinced than I am 
now, of the correctness of my own course in remaining 
in the Charleston Convention and doing all I could to 
procure the nomination of Hunter, of Virginia, and 
defeat that of Judge Douglas. This might have been 
accomplished if the seceding delegates had remained in 
the Convention. 

How any Union man can expect good to grow out of 
the destruction of the only national party now in exist- 
ence in the United States, is, to me, incomprehensible. 
And so it is, how any disunionist can expect success by 
dividing the South into three hostile factions ! Both 
unionists and disunionists, and co-operationists also, have 
pursued a suicidal course. The Black Republicans will 
be the only gainers by these factious movements. It 
may be the old Whig party will be revived in the South 
by the present state of affairs. Bell may carry Mary- 
land, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana by the division of the 
Democratic party. 

Although I have always been a Democrat, and have 
the most profound regard for Democratic principles, yet 
I have ever had moral courage enough to stem popular 
sovereignty when I saw it was drifting the ship of State 
on breakers and into whirlpools. There is much more 
consolation in being right than in being successful when 
wrong. It has been my misfortune through life to have 
been in a minority, and yet I have had the consolation 
of seeing the opposing majorities ultimately acquiesce in 
the course I desired to be pursued. I have no doubt I 
shall have this satisfaction once more. And the time is 
not far distant when the breaking up of the National 



170 ADDRESS TO THE DEMOCRACY. 

Democracy, and the secession of the Southern delegates 
from the Charleston Convention, will be regarded by all 
thinking men as a most unwise and foolish act, produc- 
tive of nothing but faction and strife, mischief and 
defeat, inglorious submission or revolutionary abortion ! 



DISUNION 



Greenville, S. C, Aug. 13, i860. 
Messrs. Editors — Enclosed I send you a communication, which you 
will please publish. You have said the columns of your paper were open 
to a free discussion of political questions. You will oblige me by giving an 
early insertion to the enclosed. Yours truly, 

B. F. PERRY. 
To the Charleston Courier. 



DISUNION. 

It would seem, from the recent publications of Messrs. 
Keitt, Orr and Boyce, that South Carolina will soon 
have to secede from the Federal Union, either alone or 
in company with the other Southern States, or a portion 
of them. These gentlemen declare that the election of 
Lincoln to the Presidency is certain — that on the hap- 
pening of such an event, prompt and immediate secession 
of the Southern States must ensue. 

Is the election of a Chief Magistrate of the Republic 
sufficient cause for the destruction of the Federal Gov- 
ernment and all the horrors of civil war and revolution ? 
This is a grave and momentous question, and should be 
calmly and dispassionately considered in all its bearings 
before it is answered by the patriot and statesman. 
They who consider the union of the States an injury and 
a curse to the South, and are disunionists per se, will, of 
course, answer promptly in the affirmative. Their 
minds are already made up, and their purpose formed. 
To them it is a matter of no consequence how an event 
so desirable is brought about. 

But there are others who think differently of the 
Federal Union. They have seen this American Repub- 
lic, the only free government in the world, prosper and 
171 



172 DISUNION. 

flourish as no government ever did in ancient or modern 
times. In the course of seventy or eighty years we have 
increased from thirteen States to thirty-three States, from 
three millions of people to thirty millions, from poverty 
and weakness to wealth, power and grandeur, unsurpassed 
by the oldest and greatest nations of the earth. A wil- 
derness, covering a vast continent, has been converted 
into towns, cities and cultivated fields. During all this 
time every one has enjoyed the most perfect freedom and 
security in all his rights as a citizen. At home and 
abroad we have commanded the respect and admiration 
of the world. In the remotest corners of the earth an 
American citizen knows and feels that he has a govern- 
ment able and willing to protect him, and that no power 
on earth dare molest him. 

It is natural that they who thus reflect, and remember 
the farewell advice of the Father of his Country, that 
union and liberty are inseparable, who know from history, 
in all ages, the horrors of civil war, and the dangers of 
revolution to liberty and civil government, should wish 
and earnestly desire the perpetuity of the Republic, under 
which they live so happily. With such one may well 
reason and argue without giving offence, and ask for a 
calm and dispassionate determination before they decide 
on breaking up their Government, and running the haz- 
ard of forming a better one. 

The probability is that the Black Republican candi- 
date will be elected President of the United States. It is a 
grievous misfortune, and one to be deeply lamented by 
every citizen of the South. But it must be remembered 
that the Southern States will have brought this misfor- 
tune, grievous as it may be, on themselves, by their own 
divisions and party strifes. Nothing can be more clearly 
shown. It was predicted at the time, and the South 
forewarned of the impending danger. 

In the unfortunate disruption of the Democratic party 
at Charleston, which I did all that I could do, amidst 
the hisses and assaults of an excited community, to pre- 



DISUNION. 173 

vent, I saw the triumph of the Black Republicans in 
the ensuing Presidential election. I stated in a letter 
written and published immediately afterwards, that the 
Southern States would be divided into three bitterly 
hostile factions, that a Black Republican President would 
be elected, and that these petty divisions of the South 
would utterly defeat a union of the South in any scheme 
of disunion. It is true in religion and in politics, that 
the nearer sects and parties approach without assimilat- 
ing, the more bitter they are towards each other. 

If the seceding members of the Charleston Convention 
had retained their seats in that body, Breckenridge and 
Lane, or others equally acceptable to the Southern States, 
would have been the nominees of the Democratic party 
for President and Vice-President. It was a well-ascer- 
tained fact that Douglas could not, under any contin- 
gency, get the two-thirds vote requisite to a nomination. 
After a number of ballotings, the friends of Judge 
Douglas would have cast their votes for Hunter, Breck- 
enridge, Dickinson, or some one else acceptable to the 
South. But after the withdrawal of a portion of the 
Southern delegates, they became excited and more dis- 
posed to adhere to their candidate. The adjournment to 
Baltimore was for the purpose of giving the friends of 
Judge Douglas, in the seceding States, an opportunity of 
sending delegates in place of those who withdrew. This 
fact I know. 

Lincoln will be elected President in consequence of 
this disruption of the Democratic party. He will be 
elected by one-third of the voters of the United States ! 
Two-thirds of the votes polled will actually be cast 
against him ! And yet he will be elected by the divis- 
ion of the opposition ! He will barely get a majority of 
the non-slaveholding votes, and none in the slave-hold- 
ing States. In New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
Connecticut, Illinois and Indiana, he will not receive a 
majority of the votes, but carry those States, and per- 
haps Oregon and some others, by a plurality vote. Bell 



174 DISUNION. 

and Everett will carry Maryland, Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and perhaps Louisiana and 
Florida. Breckenridge and Lane will have South Caro- 
lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, California, 
and, perhaps, Missouri, Louisiana and Florida, if the 
first is not given to Douglas, and the two latter to Bell. 

If elected, Lincoln will come into power with two- 
thirds of the people of the United States opposed to his 
administration ! This ought, in some measure, to ap- 
pease the apprehensions of those who affect to be so 
much alarmed for the South. His administration will 
commence a weak one, and it is not probable that he can, 
backed by one-third of the people of the United States, 
seriously injure and oppress the other two-thirds. 

But we have another check on his ability to do mis- 
chief. A majority of the Senate of the United States 
will be opposed to his administration, and no bill can 
become a law till it receives the sanction of the Senate. 
This majority in the Senate cannot be changed for several 
years to come. It is doubtful, too, as to the majority of 
the House of Representatives. More than likely the 
next election will give a majority of the members of the 
House in opposition to the Black Republicans. This 
is to be inferred from the popular vote of two-thirds 
against Lincoln in the Presidential election. 

Mr. Fillmore became President of the United States 
with a worse record than Lincoln has on the slavery 
question, and he went out of office a very popular man 
at the South ! He signed the Fugitive Slave bill, which 
Lincoln is pledged to enforce. He prevented blood-shed 
and civil war in New Mexico and Texas, which Taylor 
was about to inflict on the country. According to Sena- 
tor Benjamin's speech, Lincoln does not stand pledged 
to the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law, 
or against the admission of any more slave States into 
the Union, or to the abolition of slavery in the District 
of Columbia, or to the prohibition of the slave trade 



DISUNION. 175 

between the States, or to the acquisition of more slave 
territory. 

Judging from the course pursued by other Presidents, 
and that policy which usually governs politicians whilst 
in power, instead of doing any rash, violent or uncon- 
stitutional act to injure or offend those opposed to him, 
it is likely Lincoln will pursue a very cautious, politic 
and wise course towards the South. It cannot be in the 
nature of any man elevated to the Presidency to wish to 
see the Government broken up under his Administra- 
tion, the Republic dismembered, and the country plunged 
into a civil war. Very likely his great effort will be to 
acquire popularity in the Southern States, and appease 
their opposition by a rigid adherence to the Constitution 
and respect for the rights of the South. It is not at all 
improbable that the South may find more favors under 
the Administration of Lincoln than they have under any 
Democratic administration. It may be that " Old Abe " 
will go out of office quite a favorite with the Southern 
people ! At least we should give him a trial. 

The election of President, in conformity with the 
Federal Constitution, is no ground whatever for break- 
ing up the Republic, no matter how bitterly opposed to 
him we may be. We must wait and decide on his acts 
and measures ; nothing less will justify us in the eyes of 
the world, or in the opinions of our people. To incul- 
cate the notion that a portion of the citizens of a Re- 
public may break up and revolutionize their Govern- 
ment, because they have been defeated in their choice of 
a Chief Magistrate, is the repudiation of the first princi- 
ples of republicanism, and sanctioning that which leads 
inevitably to lawless despotism. 

Before any such movement is put on foot, it would be 
well for Messrs. Keitt, Orr and Boyce to ascertain and 
see whether such a measure is likely to be acceptable to 
their party generally ; and especially whether the friends 
of Bell, the Union candidate— whether the supporters 
of Judge Douglas in Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, 



176 DISUNION. 

and the adherents of General Houston in Texas — will 
co-operate with their opponents, the Breckenridge party 
South, in such a movement. To suppose so, shows a 
credulity beyond my comprehension. 

Then the question arises, is it proper for South Caro- 
lina to take the initiative again in a disunion movement ? 
Twice already has she failed, after marching boldly to 
the precipice and looking over. Nor has she won any 
laurels for wisdom and statesmanship in these threatened 
disruptions of her Government. Virginia was so dis- 
courteous as not even to accept of our invitation to meet 
in consultation on her own wrongs and injuries. Col. 
Orr thinks South Carolina should not act without 
Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The Colonel knows 
very well that he is perfectly safe in waiting for Georgia. 
He would not be more so in waiting for Maryland or 
Kentucky. 

This agitation of disunion is calculated, too, to damage 
seriously the prospects of Breckenridge and Lane in the 
Southern States, as well as in the Northern States. Bell's 
party and Douglas' friends North and South will make 
capital out of it, to the injury of Breckenridge. 

I go for Breckenridge in this contest, with all my 
heart, and will say, under existing circumstances, that 
it shows a want of wisdom or fealty to the South for 
any Southern man to oppose him. Nothing can be more 
injudicious than the starting of a Douglas ticket in any 
Southern State. Its only tendency will be to give the 
vote of the State to Bell, and paralyze the strength of 
the South. Nor do I think any Breckenridge ticket 
should be started in a non-slaveholding State. Its effect 
will be to give the vote of such State to the Black Re- 
publicans. It would be much better to have Douglas 
in the Presidency than Lincoln. But it is almost certain 
that if two Democratic tickets are run in the Northern 
States that Judge Douglas will not carry a single State. 

It was a great misfortune and a great wrong that 
Judge Douglas' friends should have urged his claims so 



DISUNION. 177 

strongly as they did in the Charleston Convention. The 
South was entitled to the President. Three of the last 
Presidents were Northern men. The election depended 
on the South. She had the Democratic strength in a 
great degree. The South was prejudiced against Douglas, 
and no doubt many of the Seceders had rather see Lin- 
coln elected. 

The Charleston Convention ought to have been com- 
posed of National Democrats, and then there would 
have been no division in our ranks. Mr. Yancey and 
his friends had no more right to a seat in the Conven- 
tion than Mr. R. B. Rhett and his friends had. They 
stood on the same platform, and I thought, and so said 
to my Convention friends, that they evinced unnecessary 
squeamishness after following Mr. Yancey out of the 
Convention, to refuse the proffered lead of Mr. Rhett 
after they got out. 

With uncommon ability, Mr. Boyce, in 1851, ex- 
posed the folly of separate State action and secession. 
Why he has now changed I am at a loss to know. It 
would be well for him to take up some of his old argu- 
ments and answer them. He might find it hard to do. 
But still, until they are answered, they must have their 
influence on the public mind. 

Col. Orr declared in the Columbia Convention, and 
sealed it with an oath, " so help me God, whilst the 
Federal Government is administered on Constitutional 
principles, neither my hand or my voice shall ever be 
raised against this Union." Now the election of Abe 
Lincoln will violate no Constitutional principle or pro- 
vision of the Constitution. When such violation occurs 
under Lincoln's administration, the whole South may 
be united, and policy and patriotism dictate that we 
should wait till the violation occurs. 

It may be that I am mistaken in supposing slavery 
to be out of the reach of the assaults of its foes, and if 
so I will be as ready as any one to defend it at the sac- 
rifice of the Union itself, as much as I value the Union. 



178 DISUNION. 

But I am not willing to act prematurely when there is 
no danger. As to dissolving the Union on a mere ab- 
straction, the right to carry slaves where slave-holders 
never desire to carry them, and where they would be 
worthless if carried, I am opposed to it now and for- 
ever ; and shall endeavor to defend the rights of the 
South in the Union, where I think they have been here- 
tofore properly defended, and may still be defended if 
the South is true to herself and united in that defence. 

That all who were Disunionists should have rejoiced 
at the breaking up of the Democratic Convention in 
Charleston is very natural. They saw in that move- 
ment the destruction of the National Democracy and 
their defeat in the coming Presidential election. They 
saw in the future the election of a Black Republican, 
and knew what a powerful lever it would be in their 
hands to wield against the Union. But that any friend 
to the Federal Union and lover of the peace and quiet 
of the Republic should have rejoiced at such a dire 
calamity, is most amazing. The Democratic party had 
been the friends of the South and the rights of the 
States, the true supporters and defenders of the Consti- 
tution, and the only just and wise rulers of the Govern- 
ment from its foundation to the present time. Under 
their administration the boundaries of the Republic 
had been enlarged by the acquisition of Louisiana, 
Florida, Texas, California and Oregon. The rights 
and honor of the Republic had been gallantly defended 
in a war with Great Britain and with Mexico. How 
any patriot could chuckle and grin over the death of 
this glorious old party is more than I can comprehend. 

But it does seem that for years past there has been 
at the South a systematic organization to weaken and 
drive from the Democratic party all who stand by it 
and fight for it in the Northern States. Their aim is 
to sectionalize parties, as the Black Republicans have 
<done at the North ! as the Federalists did during the 
war of 1812! all of which Washington denounced as 



DISUNION. 179 

fatal to the Republic, fatal to our Independence, aud 
fatal to Liberty itself. 

Disunion — a word of horrible import to the illustrious 
sages of the Republic, one which was not to be breathed 
by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Jack- 
son — is now in the mouth of every flippant politisian, 
certain newspaper editor, half-educated schoolboy, and 
unthinking mortal. It is the high road to office and 
popularity, and he who dare repeat the dying bequest of 
the Father of his Country is branded a traitor. The 
same feeling is manifested in the Northern Statee by the 
Black Republicans and John Brown sympathizers. 
Well may it be said, we have fallen on evil times ; and 
that "those whom the gods intend to destroy, they flrst 
make mad." 

To consummate this folly it is proposed for South 
Carolina to march out of the Union solitary and alone. 
That if left alone we shall do very well, and if an attempt 
is made to force us back, the South will rally to the 
rescue. We had better not depend on being let alone if 
we oppose the collection of duties. We may withdraw 
our members of Congress and no one will disturb us. 
In 1851 President Fillmore did not manifest any dis- 
position to let us alone. He sent troops to Charleston. 
Gen. Jackson did the same in 1831. We must not, 
therefore, expect to be let alone. Will the other South- 
ern States rally to our assistance in doing that which they 
themselves think it advisable not to do ? Would it not 
be more prudent to get them to unite with us before- 
hand? And if they will not unite in our action, for us 
to stay with them till some act is done which will unite 
the South? 

There is no doubt at all if the whole South were 
united in any course, they could take care of themselves 
in any emergency. The proper course for South Caro- 
lina to pursue is to say to the other Southern States she 
is ready to act with them, and to await their action, 
whatever that may be. This will prevent her playing 



180 DISUNION. 

before high Heaven a ridiculous farce or a bloody 
tragedy. 



TO "many citizens of chakleston." 

In your communication addressed to me in the Courier 
of the 24 inst., you ask whether my recent letter or my 
resolutions in the Legislature last winter, " is intended 
to be considered my opinion ? " and " a candid answer 
is desired." In all candor and sincerity I answer both, 
and will adhere to both with all that " honesty" which 
you say you have heretofore given me credit for. 

The letter and resolutions are not at " variance," as 
you assert, and this I am ready to show in a few words. 
First, let me state the circumstances under which my 
resolutions were penned and offered. Public meetings 
were held throughout the Northern States expressing 
the deepest sympathy with John Brown, and approving 
what he had done! No counter meetings had been 
gotten up, or any expression of public opinion given at 
the North against sentiments so revolting to Christianity 
or civilization, and which, in my opinion, characterized 
them as pirates, traitors and assassins. 

Under these circumstances my resolutions were 
offered, as I said in my speech, to rebuke the Northern 
people. I declared, at the same time, and in the same 
speech, that I did not or could not believe such senti- 
ments and feelings were general in the Northern States. 
Immediately afterwards public meetings were held in 
almost every city and town at the North, denouncing in 
the strongest terms the conduct of John Brown and all 
who sympathized with him. Speeches were made and 
resolutions adopted by the wise and great, as well as by 
the humble and lowly, entirely satisfactory to the South. 
The leaders of the Republican party, even such men as 
Seward and Wilson, declared in the Senate of the United 



DISUNION. 181 

States that they repudiated such feelings and sentiments. 
It became manifest that such fiendish sympathy and ex- 
pressions were confined to the rabid, fanatical abolitionists 
alone. 

In recent publications made by Gerritt Smith and 
Lloyd Garrison, the leaders of the Abolition party at 
the North, they bemoan the downfall of their cause in 
the Northern States, express their want of confidence in 
the Black Republican party, and their determination 
not to support such a party in the coming Presidential 
contest. But these publications are excluded from 
all Southern papers, and are unknown to the 
Southern people generally. These honest, rabid, political 
Abolitionists say what is true — that they have been 
deceived by the Black Republican party, and that this 
party cares nothing for the negro; that their only object 
is to get into power, and when in power, they will make 
no more noise against the South or slavery! Their only 
ambition is office and the spoils of office — victory and 
destruction. In other words, it is a political game 
which they are playing, without faith or sincerity to any 
principle whatever ! 

Now I repeat and re-adopt every sentiment, expres- 
sion and word in my resolutions, and say that I feel an 
inexpressible scorn and contempt for the infamous, 
hypocritical sympathy expressed by a portion of the 
Northern people for the attempted insurrection at 
Harper's Ferry, and that the general adoption of such 
feelings and sentiments, alike revolting to Christianity 
and civilization by the Northern States, will make it 
dishonorable and dishonoring for South Carolina and the 
other slaveholding States to continue united in the 
same government with a people whose social and moral 
tone would characterize them as a nation of pirates, 
assassins and traitors. 

Whenever there is sufficient evidence before the 
country to induce the Southern States to believe that 
the non-slaveholding States have generally adopted the 



182 DISUNION. 

fiendish doctrines set forth in the addresses and resolu- 
tions at the John Brown sympathizing public meetings,. 
I am for disconnecting at once, and forever, all political 
ties which unite us, as one people, with the Northern 
States. But I feel and know that such sentiments are 
now utterly repudiated by the whole Democratic 
party North, as well as by the entire Union or Bell and 
Everett party, and a large portion of the Black 
Republican party, composing, perhaps, nine-tenths of the 
Northern people. Believing this, as I most sincerely 
do, I am a Union man till the contrary offers, or until I 
see an overt action of treason against the Constitution 
and the South by those who control the Federal Gov- 
ernment. I am unwilling to break up the Union on an 
uncertainty. I will take no counsel from base fear or 
cowardly apprehensions. 

A " Secessionist " in the Mercury says, I talk very 
much like the Tories did in the Revolution, and that he 
who advises against withdrawing from the Federal 
Union now, would then have opposed a separation from 
Great Britain. Let us see if we have the same cause for 
revolution that our ancestors had. The following are 
some of the grievances which impelled the patriots and 
sages of the revolution to separate from the mother 
country as set forth in their Declaration of Independence. 

Laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public 
good were refused. Governors were forbidden to pass 
laws of immediate and pressing importance. People were 
required to relinquish the right of representation in the 
Legislature. Legislative bodies were called together at 
places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from their 
public records. Representative houses were dissolved for 
opposing an invasion of the rights of the people. The 
population of the colonies was prevented. The adminis- 
tration of justice was obstructed. A multitude of new 
offices were created, and successors of officers sent to 
harass the people and eat out their substance. Stand- 
ing armies were kept up in time of peace without the 



DISUNION. 183 

consent of the Legislatures. The military was made 
independent of and superior to the civil power. The 
people were subjected to jurisdictions foreign to their 
constitutions and laws. Large bodies of armed troops 
were quartered on them. Murderers of the inhabitants 
of the colonies were protected by mock trials from pun- 
ishment. Trade with all parts of the world was cut off. 
Taxes were imposed without the consent of the people. 
The trial by jury was denied. The citizens were trans- 
ported beyond the seas to be tried for pretended offences. 
Charters were taken away, most valuable laws abolished, 
and forms of government altered. Legislatures sus- 
pended. War was waged against the people. Our seas 
were plundered, coasts ravaged, towns burnt, and the 
lives of our people destroyed. Large armies of mercen- 
aries were transported hither to complete the work of 
desolation and tyranny. Citizens made to bear arms 
against their country. Insurrections were excited, and 
the merciless Indian savage called in to murder all ages 
and sexes. 

Have we any such causes at present for breaking up 
the Government and dissolving the Union ? Since the 
formation of our Government nine slave States have been 
added to the Confederacy, viz.: Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, 
Arkansas, and Texas. No slave State has ever been 
excluded from the Federal Union. The Federal Gov- 
ernment has recently declared that the people of every 
new State shall decide for themselves whether they will 
have, or prohibit slavery. The odious Missouri restric-. 
tion, sanctioned by a Southern President, with Mr. Cal- 
houn in his Cabinet, has been repealed, and in favor of 
slavery. The Federal Government, with a Northern 
President at its head, has passed a Fugitive Slave law 
within a few years past. This law has been enforced by 
all the powers of the Federal Government. Through 
their Judiciary the Government has declared that the 
citizens of the slaveholding States have the same right to 



184 DISUNION. 

move with their slaves into a Territory that the citizens 
of the non-slaveholding States have to move there with 
their property. The Federal Government has declared 
that Congress has no right to pass any law prohibiting 
slavery in the Territories, and that the Territorial Gov- 
ernments have no such power. What more do we want ? 
Where is the analogy between our present grievances and 
those of our forefathers, who separated from the British 
Throne and established the American Republic? 

Where, let me ask " A Secessionist/' in the name of 
God and all that is sacred on earth, where are those vio- 
lations of the Federal Constitution, and those actual 
existing grievances of the South which, in his own lan- 
guage, would brand Washington as a traitor, if he 
were now to repeat the language of his Farewell Address 
in reference to the value of the American Union? They 
may come. It is possible. When they do, we will meet 
them like men. But, until then, we may be excused for 
admiring, loving, and holding sacred the dying words of 
the Father of his Country. If they had been uttered 
yesterday, they could not have been more appropriate. 
I beg permission to repeat them : 

" The unity of government which constitutes you one 
people is also dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a 
main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the 
support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, 
of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty 
which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee 
that from different causes and from different quarters 
much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to 
weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as 
this is the point in your political fortress against which 
the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most 
constantly and actively (though often covertly and insid- 
iously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should 
properly estimate the immense value of your national 
Union to your collective and individual happiness ; that 
you should cherish a cordial, habitual and immovable 



DISUNION. 185 

attachment to it, accustoming yourselves to think and 
speak of it as a palladium of your political safety and 
prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous 
anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a 
suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and 
indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every 
attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the 
rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together 
the various parts." 

This is the warning, prophetic language of the Father 
of his Country — the words of his Farewell Address to 
his countrymen — embodying that great and glorious sen- 
timent of his heart — Independence, Union and Liberty 
— which manifested itself in every act and word of his 
illustrious life, repeated in his will and left as a dying 
legacy to his country ! Is there a man now living who 
has studied, honors and appreciates the character of 
Washington so reckless as to say that, if he were to rise 
from his grave, he would not, at this time, with a full 
knowledge of the past and present history of the Republic, 
repeat with tenfold earnestness, North and South, every 
word he had ever uttered in reference to the value of the 
Union ? And yet if he did, " A Secessionist " would 
brand the name of Washington as a Traitor to the 
South ! 

During the eight years of Washington's administration 
he saw enough of sectional strife and sectional jealousy 
to have a presentiment of what was to occur in the future 
history of the Republic. Hence, his great anxiety on 
that subject, and his dreadful apprehensions about the 
Union. The evils of Disunion are well portrayed in his 
Farewell Address, and deserve to be read by those who 
are so anxious to rend into fragments the American 
Republic. 



THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVEN- 
TION IN CHARLESTON, 1860. 



In the Spring of 1860 the National Democratic 
party held their convention in the city of Charleston, 
for the purpose of nominating candidates for the Presi- 
dency and Vice-Presidency of the United States. It 
was supposed that the assembling of the delegates in 
this city would have a salutary influence on the State 
of South Carolina and the Southern States generally. But 
it was soon manifest, after the Convention met, that the 
citizens of Charleston and the crowd of Southern people 
there at that time exercised a most unhappy influence 
on the Convention. The galleries of the convention and 
the streets of the city were crowded with Secessionists 
and Disunionists, who desired to break up the Demo- 
cratic party and the Union of the States. The Southern 
delegates were emboldened to insist on their extreme 
principles in the formation of the Democratic platform. 
■ First before the meeting of the Charleston Conven- 
tion, there was a Convention of the Democracy of South 
Carolina, in Columbia, for the purpose of appointing 
delegates to the National Democratic Convention. Gov- 
ernor Orr was made President of this Convention, and 
on taking the chair, delivered a very good Union 
address. He said that his views in regard to the Amer- 
ican Union had undergone a great change, and that he 
was then disposed to preserve it. The Convention 
seemed moderate in their tone and temper, and rejected 
the Alabama resolutions, which some delegate from the 
eastern part of the State had introduced as a platform of 
principles. Under these circumstances the delegates 
1 86 



NATIONAL CONVENTION. 187 

were appointed, and instead of being instructed to with- 
draw, if the platform did not suit the South, the 
rejection of the Alabama resolutions was regarded as 
instructions to remain in the Convention. 

I was appointed a delegate to the Charleston Conven- 
tion, and went immediately on from Columbia to attend 
the Convention. Caleb dishing, of Massachusetts, was 
elected President of the Convention, and a more judi- 
cious selection of a presiding officer could not have been 
made. He discharged the onerous duties of the chair 
with great ability, promptness and impartiality. Hun- 
dreds of points of order were made by delegates very 
much excited, and in every instance decided correctly. 
All were impressed with his ability as a presiding 
officer. 

New York sent two sets of delegates to the Charles- 
ton Convention, and the question arose which set should 
be allowed to take their seats. The committee reported 
in favor of the delegates first appointed, and they took 
their seats. In adopting the platform there was great 
cavalling and the highest excitement. No disposition 
was manifested either by the North or the South to com- 
promise. I thought there were some delegates who 
wished to prevent the Convention agreeing on a plat- 
form. It was my impression that William L. Yancy, 
of Alabama, came to Charleston for the purpose of 
breaking up the Convention. He knew very well that 
the Alabama resolutions would not be adopted by a 
majority of the Convention, and therefore, in case of 
their rejection, the Alabama delegates were instructed 
to withdraw from the Convention. 

When it was pretty well ascertained that the plat- 
form would not be acceptable to the South, there was a 
great deal of caucusing and consulting with the differ- 
ent delegations as to the propriety of their withdrawing 
from the Convention. The South Carolina delegation 
had been telegraphing our members of Congress in 
Washington, as to the course they should pursue, and 



188 NATIONAL 

they advised us to quit the Convention. One morning 
Colonel Wilson, of Georgetown, introduced a resolution 
in a meeting of the South Carolina delegates pledging 
ourselves to withdraw from the Convention. I imme- 
diately arose, and said that I should not quit the Con- 
vention or feel myself bound to obey the action of the 
majority of the delegation. I had been sent there to 
represent the State in making a nomination for President, 
and had received no instructions to quit the Convention 
under any circumstances. The resolution was then 
withdrawn and every delegate was to act on his own 
responsibility. 

I was staying with my friend, Dr. F. Y. Porcher. I 
left the Convention at the usual dinner hour ; on my 
return I found the South Carolina delegation had 
retired with the Alabama delegation and a large num- 
ber of other Southern delegates, and were holding a 
meeting in another building. Colonel Boozer, of Lex- 
ington, came into the Convention and we determined to 
remain and vote on the nomination of candidates for 
President. We cast our votes for Senator Hunter, of 
Virginia, and I was hissed every time I said so by the 
Secessionists in the gallery. One day I rose to make a 
speech, and the hissing in the gallery was so loud and 
continued, that it was moved to clear the galleries. This 
I opposed, and said that I wished the galleries to hear 
what I had to say. The motion was withdrawn and I 
made my speech. 

The retiring of the South Carolina delegates was cari- 
catured by Colonel Arthur, of Columbia, with great 
humor. General Simons was made to say as the dele- 
gates marched out of the Convention — " Let us retire 
with dignity." Governor Orr and Colonel Simpkins 
were on their road home and the latter with a banjo 
playing " home sweet home." Mr. Solicitor Reed was 
enquiring how far it was to the Secession meeting, and a 
little negro boy was telling him Mass Yancy had gone 
and he must follow quickly. I was represented as 



DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 189 

standing on my principles and refusing to go. Colonel 
Boozer was holding on to the skirts of my coat. 

The Convention balloted some forty or fifty times 
without the remotest probability of agreeing in their 
nomination. The friends of Stephen Douglas would 
not think of abandoning him, and the remaining South- 
ern delegates could not accept him as their candidate. 
The Convention finally broke up to meet again in Balti- 
more. I did not attend the Baltimore session. Then 
the delegates divided again, and the Southern wing of 
the Democratic party nominated Breckenridge, of Ken- 
tucky, and the others nominated Douglas. This broke 
up the great Democratic party, and a dissolution of the 
Union was the consequence. The Whig party nomi- 
nated Bell, of Tennessee, and the Black Republicans were 
all centred on Abraham Lincoln. He was elected by a 
minority vote, and his party refused all compromises. 
A bloody sectional war ensued for four long years, and 
the consequences have been most horrible, and I fear 
fatal to constitutional liberty and republican gov- 
ernment. 



UNITED STATES SENATOR. 



The election of the Hon. B. F. Perry to the position 
of United States senator, on Monday last, with such 
unanimity for the long term, is one of the best evi- 
dences of the loyalty of the Legislature and people of the 
State that could be given to the administration at 
Washington, and we are sure it will be so regarded 
there. It will reassure and strengthen the hands of 
President Johnson in his great and noble work of 
reconstruction. It will, moreover, materially aid and 
strengthen the conservative party at the North who are 
doing such good service in battling against radicals of 
New England. 

As regards the eminent fitness of Governor Perry for 
this position there is but one opinion, we are confident 
among our people. Throughout his public career, 
which has been marked by distinguished ability, he has 
been a consistent conservative statesman. His appoint- 
ment as Provisional Governor in the darkest hour of our 
misfortunes, was hailed by the whole people of the State 
as an act of wisdom and patriotism on the part of President 
Johnson, and their representatives have set the seal of 
their approbation of his gubernatorial course by electing 
him to the highest office in their gift. 
190 



NATIONAL RESTORATION, 

After the Refusal of the United States Senate to admit South Caro- 
lina Senators, 1866. 



To the Editors of th°, National Intelligencer : 

My credentials as United States senator from the 
State of South Carolina were presented the other day 
to the Senate by the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of Mary- 
land, and laid on the table. It is not likely that any 
representative from South Carolina will be heard in 
either House for some time to come. In the meantime 
questions of vital importance to her interests, honor and 
welfare will be before the Senate. I therefore ask per- 
mission of you to say a word, through your paper, in 
behalf of the State which I was elected to represent. 
But first, Mr. Editors, let me say a word in reference 
to myself, so that my true position toward the State 
may be known, and what I say in her behalf properly 
judged of. My whole political life, for more than the 
third of a century past has been spent in defence of the 
maintenance of the Federal Union and in opposing the 
popular doctrines of nullification, secession and dis- 
union in my native State. No man in America regret- 
ted more deeply than I did the fatal secession of South 
Carolina- in 1860. I had been brought up from my 
childhood in the school of Washington's Farewell 
Address, and I believed, most religiously, all the great 
truths therein set forth. The terrible consequences of 
disunion were ever present in my mind, and I never 
ceased to warn my fellow-citizens of them. I remem- 
ber telling them that their secession would prove the 
death-knell of slavery, the establishment of a military 
191 



192 NATIONAL KESTOllATION. 

despotism in the Southern States. Both events have 
occurred, but I hope the latter is only temporary. 

Much is to be said in extenuation of the course 
pursued by South Carolina. The people had been 
taught by their greatest statesmen, for a half century 
past, and educated in the belief that a sovereign State 
had the right peaceably to secede from the Federal 
Union. However grossly mistaken, they were sincere 
in this belief, is sincere as they were in their belief of 
the Christian religion. None can doubt it who knows, 
as I do, their honest devotion to principle on all 
occasions and under all circumstances. It does some- 
times happen in politics, as in religion, that the more 
absurd and paradoxical the proposition, the stronger 
becomes the faith of the believer. In illustration of 
this opinion I might refer to the present belief of the 
Republican party as to the equality of the negro and 
white races. 

The people of South Carolina thought, too, that 
there was a determination on the part of the Northern 
States to interfere with their domestic institutions, and 
abolish slavery by Congressional legislation. They saw 
in the election of President Lincoln the triumph of a 
sectional majority over the South. I did all that I 
could to disabuse the public mind of these apprehen- 
sions. I reminded them that a large majority of the 
Republican members of Congress had declared by 
resolution that they had no constitutional right to inter- 
fere with slavery in the States, and no disposition to do 
so if they had. I said that President Lincoln had 
been elected by a minority of the votes polled in the 
United States ; that there was a majority of the mem- 
bers in both Houses of Congress opposed to him, with 
a majority of the Supreme Court, and he was therefore 
powerless in the administration of the Government. 
But when the Southern members withdrew they placed 
him and his party in power. 

The people of South Carolina further believed that it 



NATIONAL RESTORATION. 193 

was the interest of the North and the South, as they could 
not live harmoniously together, to separate and form 
two independent nations. They had been wrangling 
and stirring up sectional strife ever since the formation 
of their Government. They did believe that the two 
sections could live peaceably and happily as neighbors, 
under different Governments, whilst they could not, as 
one people, under the same Government. For this 
opinion, which was sincerely entertained by them, I 
thought and told them that they ignored all history as 
well as the character and circumstances of the American 
people. 

They thought, too, that they were justified in taking this 
step by that great principle embodied in the American 
Declaration of Independence, deemed sacred to the 
cause of liberty and Republican Government, which 
declared that every people had an inalienable right to 
self-government and the right to change their form of 
Government when they saw proper. It was on this 
principle that their forefathers had separated from 
Great Britain. They were in hopes, and a large 
majority of them did verily believe, that the Northern 
States would let them depart in peace, and try their 
experiment of a Southern Confederacy, rather than 
involve the country in a cruel, bloody and unnatural 
war, to enforce an unwilling political alliance. If they 
could have foreseen the horrible results of secession in 
the desolation of their country, the abolition of slavery, 
the destruction of their property, a four years' war, and 
the sacrifice of two hundred thousand Southern lives, 
no sane South Carolinian would have thought of, much 
less advocated, such a doctrine ; and it is hardly proba- 
ble that if the Northern people could have foreseen the 
loss of five hundred thousand of their fellow-creatures, 
and the increase of their national debt to more than 
three thousand millions of dollars, that they would have 
been willing to have paid this horrible price as a 
Christian and civilized people for the sake of living 



194 NATIONAL RESTORATION. 

under the same Government with the Southern States. 
Under these circumstances the people of South Car- 
olina, with those of ten other States, did secede from 
the Federal Union and establish a National Confeder- 
acy. Gallantly and heroically they fought for that na- 
tionality, and maintained it for four long bloody years 
against the gigantic armies which were hurled against 
them. They made herculean efforts and heart-rending 
sacrifices in its defence which will live in history with 
the most renowned achievements of Greece and Rome. 
In the end their strength and resources were ex- 
hausted, and they were overwhelmed by numbers, 
conquered and subdued. Brave and honorable, they 
have accepted the results of the war as the decree 
of God. The fortunes of battle decided against their 
right of secession, and they have abandoned it for- 
ever. They now acknowledge the Federal Union as 
perpetual, in the spirit with which it was framed. In 
obedience to the President's proclamation they have 
prepared themselves to resume, in good faith, their posi- 
tion once more in the Union. They met in Convention ; 
repealed their Ordinance of Secession, restored their 
obligations to the Constitution of the United States, 
and abolished African slavery, which had been a cher- 
ished patriarchal institution with them, and under 
which the negro had multiplied and increased in a manner 
which proved that he had been kindly treated and 
cared for in his slavery. In doing this, they gave up 
two hundred millions of dollars' worth of property. 
They accepted and ratified the amendment of the Fed- 
eral Constitution, declaring that neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude should ever exist again in the 
United States, unless for crimes whereof the party had 
been duly convicted. They remodelled and popularized 
their State Constitution, abolishing whatever was of 
aristocratic tendency in it, making representation and 
taxation equal throughout the State, and giving the 
election of Governor and Presidential electors to the 



NATIONAL RESTORATION. 195 

people. Their Legislature afterwards assembled aud 
secured by law the rights of the freedrnen to life, liberty 
and property, the right of giving testimony in all cases 
where their interests were involved, and establishing for 
them a fair and impartial trial in their courts of justice. 
All this the people of South Carolina have done in 
good faith, and are this day as loyal to the Union as the 
people of any other State. They are now as earnest and 
zealous in their support of the Constitution of the United 
States, and the honor of the Republic, as they were a few 
years since in their efforts to establish and maintain a 
Confederacy of the Southern States. Everywhere, all 
over the State, they are quiet and peaceable, obeying the 
laws of the Federal Union, and trying to redeem, by 
their industry and economy, their broken fortunes, and 
restore the State to prosperity and happiness. They 
have no wish or thought of dishonoring their national 
characters by repudiating the national debt of the Union ; 
nor have they a wish for the United States to pay or 
assume any of the liabilities of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. Their earnest desire is to have restored those 
kind social and commercial relations which formerly ex- 
isted between the different sections of the Union. Slavery 
having been abolished, which was the great disturbing 
element between the North and the South, they see no 
reason why there should now be any longer dissensions 
between the two sections. They are mutually dependent 
on each other, and never were two people more necessary 
to each other's prosperity and happiness. They have 
descended from the same families of nations ; they speak 
the same language, have the same religion, literature, and 
laws, and are connected by blood and marriage. The 
gigantic struggle through which they have just passed 
proved that their manhood and courage are the same. 
Brave and honorable men, who have fought each other 
like men, are ever ready to be reconciled on fair and 
honorable terms. They who kept out of the war on both 
sides are the hardest to be reconciled. 



196 NATIONAL RESTORATION. 

There is no feeling of unkindness in South Carolina 
towards the freedmeu, but, on the contrary, one of deep 
sympathy and protection on the part of their former 
owners. In the upper and middle portions of the State 
the negroes have all made contracts, and gone to work 
and are doing well. It is only in the lower country and 
on the sea islands, where they have been interfered with 
by a mistaken philanthropy, that there is any disturb- 
ance. If the Northern people were more familiar with 
the negro, and understood better his character and dis- 
position, they would give themselves less trouble about 
him and his political rights. The negro does not desire, 
and is incapable of exercising, with prudence and dis- 
cretion, the right of suffrage in his present degraded and 
ignorant condition. To give him this right in South 
Carolina would be to establish an odious and dangerous 
political aristocracy. A man with a large landed estate, 
having it cultivated by freed men, would always be able 
to control their votes in every election. Instead of 
having one vote, as his poor neighbor has, he would have 
fifty or a hundred, in proportion to his colored hirelings. 
The negro wants bread and meat for himself, his wife 
and children to eat, and clothes to wear, but he neither 
wants votes nor is he capable of voting on political ques- 
tions. It is said in sacred Scripture that the leopard 
cannot change his spots, nor the Ethiopian his skin, nor 
can you, by any system of legislation, elevate the African 
to an equality with the white man. For over two thou- 
sand years he has remained in his native country, the 
same ignorant savage and barbarian, without the slightest 
advancement in civilization, whilst all the Caucasian 
nations of the earth have been going forward with won- 
derful improvements in all the arts and sciences of life. 

There is something in every one's heart which tells 
him that human slavery is wrong in the abstract, and 
ought not to be. And yet no fair-minded man who 
compares the condition of the negro in Africa with that 
of the recent slaves in the Southern States, but must 



NATIONAL RESTORATION. 197 

admit that he has been greatly improved by slavery. 
In a few years it is apprehended that it will be equally 
manifest that the freedman has not been improved by 
the abolition of slavery. Whilst a slave, he was fed, 
clothed, attended in sickness, taken care of in old age, 
and his children provided for. This is about as much 
as any laboring class can realize for their labor in any 
country. But I would not restore slavery if I could, 
and this is the general feeling and sentiment of South 
Carolina. The young negroes and the old ones will not 
be taken care of and provided for, as they were in slavery, 
and they will die, whilst the planter will make more out 
of the labor of those who are grown and able to work. 

But if the Northern people really feel so much inter- 
est in the negro race as they would have us believe, why 
do they not hold out inducements for the freedman to 
immigrate North, and live there with their friends and 
patrons, who are able to take care of them ? Nothing 
of this kind has been offered or attempted. On the con- 
trary, many of the former non-slaveholding States have 
prohibited their entrance under severe penalties. They 
have likewise been denied the right of suffrage in all of 
these States except six. The Southern States are very 
willing for the freedmen to go North, and have there 
conferred on them the right of suffrage. But is it just 
and rgiht on the part of Connecticut and other States, 
where the negro has been free for a century, that he 
should be denied the right of voting there, and for those 
States to insist that he shall be allowed to vote in South 
Carolina, where he has just been emancipated ? We do 
not complain of the policy of Connecticut, but insist 
that she has no right to enforce on us a different policy. 
Every State has the undoubted right, under the Federal 
Constitution, to determine for herself who shall exercise 
the right of suffrage. 

It is most remarkable that whilst two- thirds of the 
States are legislating on the dearest and most vital inter- 
ests of the Southern States, these States, composing one- 



198 NATIONAL RESTORATION. 

third of the Republic in population, and one-half in 
extent of territory, should be excluded from all partici- 
pation in such legislation. It is not only contrary to 
Republican principles, but an outrage on the sense of 
justice in a despotism, for ten millions of people to be 
tried, condemned, and deprived of their civil, political 
and constitutional rights without a hearing. They have 
been in rebellion, it is true, and they have likewise been 
pardoned by Executive clemency, and restored to their 
citizenship and loyalty. There were in those rebel 
States Union men who struggled bravely to ward off the 
terrible calamities of disunion till all protection by the 
United States was withdrawn from them, and they were 
left no choice but to become the obedient citizens of a 
de facto Government. Is it right that they should be 
punished for their misfortunes, and have no distinction 
made in their favor? 

If the doors of Congress were opened to the represen- 
tatives of the Southern States, very few of them could 
take the test-oath. They may have been ardent and 
zealous Union men at the beginning of the struggle, 
but the force of circumstances necessarily compelled them 
to give countenance to the rebellion before it was over. 
The United States Government ceased to protect them, 
and left them subject to another Government, which 
maintained its control over them for four years. By 
the rigid laws of England on the subject of treason, as 
well as by the rules of common sense and justice, no 
one who submits to a de facto King can be declared a 
traitor. They saw the United States leading indiscrimi- 
nate war against Union men as well as Secessionists, 
desolating the country, burning their houses, plundering 
their provisions, and leaving them and their families to 
starve. They saw their friends and kindred in the 
Southern army trying to defend their country and 
homes and property, fighting as their forefathers had 
done in the American Revolution for the right of self- 
government. It would be in vain to ask such a Union 



NATIONAL EESTORATION. 199 

man to swear he had never in word or deed " counte- 
nanced" the rebellion or given aid and comfort to those 
who were in rebellion. 

This test-oath may have been politically right whilst 
the war was going on, so far as it applied to the officers 
of the Government. Its purpose was to exclude traitors 
and disunionists from office. But with peace all neces- 
sity for the oath ceased in the loyal States. Its enforce- 
ment in the Southern States is not only unjust, after the 
President's amnesty proclamation, but utterly impracti- 
cable. The Government cannot be administered in 
those States with that oath. It is impossible to find per- 
sons able to take the oath who are capable of filling the 
various appointments under the Treasury and Post- 
Office Department. The heads of those departments, 
as I once informed them, whilst Provisional Governor 
of South Carolina, would have to wait till another gen- 
eration sprang up, for neither the men, women or chil- 
dren could conscientiously declare that they had not 
given countenance to the rebellion. 

But this test-oath does not apply to members of Con- 
gress, for they are not " officers " of the Government. 
The Federal Constitution does not anywhere call them 
officers, or recognize them or allude to them as officers of 
the Government. Instead of being officers of the 
Government, they are the representatives of the people 
and the States, senators and members of Congress. In 
the early history of our Government it was so decided, 
and has been so recognized ever since, till the passage of 
this test-oath. 

The Federal Constitution prescribes an oath for 
senators and members of the House, and no additional 
oath of any character whatever can be constitutionally 
required of them. The powers of Congress are dele- 
gated and enumerated, and they have no others, and 
can exercise no others, except it be to carry out and 
enforce some enumerated power. 

It would be monstrous, indeed, if a majority in Con- 



200 NATIONAL RESTORATION. 

gress had the power of prescribing an oath for the 
members to take when they qualify. They might 
exclude the minority from their seats by % requiring 
them to swear that they never had been Democrats, 
or voted a Democratic ticket, or countenanced in any 
way 'a Democratic candidate. 

Each House is the judge of the election returns and 
qualifications of its members ; but this simply requires 
the House or the Senate to decide whether the election 
returns and qualifications of the members elect are in 
conformity with the Constitution. The attempt to 
derive the power to pass a test-oath from this clause of 
the Federal Constitution is about as absurd as the right 
of secession, and equally as dangerous in its con- 
sequences. 

It would seem that the object of the Radical party in 
Congress, in offering so many amendments to the Con- 
stitution, and insisting on the application of the test- 
oath to members of Congress, was to perpetuate their 
power in the Government. Instead of having this 
effect, however, it will more than likely have just the 
opposite tendency. Their amendments will never be 
adopted by three-fourths of the States, and their con- 
tinued exclusion of the Southern members must pro- 
duce a reaction against them, when they go before the 
people again. 

If the Southern members were all admitted, the 
Radical party would still have a majority in both 
Houses. They need not, therefore, be afraid of the 
sceptre departing from Judah, during the thirty-ninth 
Congress. It is true their majority would be diminished, 
and it is possible that a measure like that of the Freed- 
men's Bureau bill might have been endangered on its 
passage, if the Southern representative had been per- 
mitted to show its monstrous injustice to the planter, its 
demoralizing influence on the freed man, its ruinous 
consequences to the culture of the Sea Island cotton, 
and the startling expenditures it will require to support 



NATIONAL RESTORATION. 201 

the idle and vicious negroes who will not work, and are 
to be fed and clothed by the Government. This bill 
taxes the poor white man throughout the North to sup- 
port the vicious and vagrant Southern negro. It takes 
from the planter his home without consideration, and 
turns his wife and children out of doors to perish, in 
order that his former slaves may not be under the 
necessity of making a contract to work those lands, but 
be able to live on them in idleness, and get their sup- 
port from the Freedmen's Bureau. 

As an evidence of the boasted loyalty and good con- 
duct of these negroes, it may be stated that a party of 
gentlemen from the State of Pennsylvania visited one of 
the islands near Charleston the other day, with written 
permission from Gen. Sickles. The negroes captured the 
party in violation of military orders, and were going 
to massacre the whole party of them ; marched them 
twelve miles across the island, and treated them with 
the greatest indignity the whole route. Those are the 
people who are to be allowed to vote, and elect out of 
their number a member of Congress. 

The Southern people have been peculiarly unfortunate. 
At one time they thought it better to withdraw their mem- 
bers from Congress, and live separately from the North. 
This they desired to do peaceably and quietly. The 
North objected, and declared that the Union should not 
be dissolved. They were repeatedly told that they 
must lay down their arms, elect their members of Con- 
gress, and resume their position in the Union. Finally 
they consented to do so. Now they are told that the 
Union is dissolved, and they shall not be allowed to 
resume their places in it ! Let the North beware, lest 
in forging chains for the South they do not enclose 
themselves. This Freedmen's Bureau is an imperium 
in imperio, and now embraces the North as well as the 
South. 

But I am not disposed to despair of the Republic. 
I have always had an abiding faith in the virtue and 



202 NATIONAL RESTORATION 

intelligence of the American people, North and South. 
The time must come, sooner or later, when the test-oath 
will be repealed and Southern Representatives admitted 
to their seats in Congress. I was once excluded from 
office in South Carolina by a test-oath on account of my 
Union principles. I did not then despair, and I do not 
now. The oath was carried before an independent and 
enlightened judiciary of the State, and it was declared 
unconstitutional. If the present test-oath can ever be 
brought before a similar tribunal in the Capitol, it must 
share the same fate. The American people, too, will 
have to sit in judgment on it at the next election, and 
decide whether the Union shall continue or be super- 
seded by a military despotism. The North should con- 
sider that when once the Southern people have been 
enslaved, they may be fit instruments to enslave the North, 
as we said by the great Earl of Chatham in reference 
to our forefathers and England at the commencement of 
the American Revolution. 

The Southern States have committed grievous errors, 
and terrible has been their punishment — sufficient, one 
would suppose, to gratify the blackest hate of the most 
malignant revenger. There is nothing more gratifying 
to a noble and generous nature than mercy and forgive- 
ness. Nor is there anything more pleasant to a mean 
and cowardly spirit than the gratification of its revenge 
and hatred. The history of man in all ages illustrates 
the truth of this assertion. 

The great crime of the Southern States was simply a 
wish to live separated from the North. They did not 
seek to conquer and subdue the North, or to rule over 
the North, but only attempted to govern themselves in 
their own way and after their own fashion. This boon 
was denied them, and their country has been devastated, 
their towns, cities and villages laid waste, their property 
taken from them, and the people left bankrupted and 
starving. Now they humbly ask to be permitted to 
live quietly, peaceably and loyally in that Union, and 



NATIONAL RESTORATION. 203 

renew their social, political and commercial relations 
with the North. It is to be hoped that the kind, generous 
and magnanimous policy adopted by the President will 
be pursued and carried out by the American people, 
and that we shall be once more, free, united, happy 
and prosperous, showing to the world that man is 
capable of self-government, and that no kingdom or 
empire is equal in justice, virtue, strength and grand- 
eur to a great Republic founded in the hearts and 
affections of the people. 



Letter accepting Nomination for Congress. 



September 11th, 1872. 
J. H. Rion, D. R. Duncan, and S. P. Hamilton, Esqs., 
Committee, etc. : 

Gentlemen : — I had the honor of receiving your 
communication of the 9th instant last evening, inform- 
ing me that " the Democratic Convention for the Fourth 
Congressional District had unanimously nominated me 
as the candidate of the Democratic party for election to 
the House of Representatives of the United States Con- 
gress from said district," and that you " beg to urge 
upon me the acceptance of the nomination." 

This unsolicited and unexpected expression of confi- 
dence on the part of the Democratic Convention of this 
Congressional District has made a deep impression on 
my feelings, and I can assure the members of that Con- 
vention, representing the counties of York, Chester, 
Fairfield, Laurens, Spartanburg, Greenville, Pickens 
and Oconee, that I highly appreciate the distinguished 
honor they have conferred on me. At this time and 
under existing circumstances, it is one of peculiar and 
extraordinary distinction. The intelligence, education 
and wealth of the State of South Carolina, comprising 
40,000 or 62,000 voters, possessing, in a great measure, 
all the commerce, agriculture and manufactures of the 
entire State, are unrepresented in the Congress of the 
United States, and only partially represented in our 
State Legislature. This anomalous condition, in a gov- 
ernment purporting to be Republican, has existed in 
South Carolina for the last seven years and brought the 
State to the lowest depths of political infamy and 
to the verge of bankruptcy and ruin the loss of 



LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

civil liberty and personal security! This Con- 
gressional District is the only one in the whole State 
in which there is a chance of electing a representative of 
the white people. If elected, therefore, I shall have the 
proud distinction of being the sole representative of the 
virtue, intelligence and wealth of South Carolina in the 
National Congress. 

There must be a change. This condition of affairs 
cannot last much longer without the most terrible 
results. It therefore behooves every one who loves his 
country and values its peace and prosperity to exert him- 
self and make any and every sacrifice necessary to restore 
Republican principles and the purity of our Govern- 
ment, both State and Federal. Profoundly impressed 
with these sentiments, I did not feel myself at liberty to 
refuse, a few days since, the nomination of the Demo- 
cratic party of Greenville county as a candidate for the 
State Senate, although it was made against my earnest pro- 
testations, on account of my health, age and disinclination 
to enter again public life. But my friends urged that I 
could be of service in redeeming the State from its deg- 
radation and ruin. I accepted their nomination. This 
embarrasses me now in determining my duty. But as 
Greenville was represented in the Congressional Ccn- 
vention and consented to my nomination, I feel that it 
is the wish of the county I should accept the higher 
and more responsible position here assigned me. 

In accepting the nomination now tendered me, it is 
proper that I should state that all my feelings and princi- 
ples are in sympathy with that great national party 
whose purpose is reconciliation between the two sections 
of our country and the two races which live in the 
Southern States, and whose aim is, under the leadership 
of Horace Greeley, to purge the Government of its cor- 
ruptions, restore Republican principles, and promote the 
peace and prosperity of all sections and classes. The 
radical party, North and South, see and know that their 
success as a party depends on keeping up the hatred 



LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

of the North to the South and the hatred of the 
colored race to the white race. When these hatreds 
and prejudices are crushed out, the radical party will 
lose their ascendency in the Government. The colored 
people will no longer be the political slaves of selfish 
and designing office seekers and holders, who are basely 
and treacherously using them for their own promotion 
and plunder. The interests and rights of the colored 
people have been sacrificed and betrayed by their pre- 
tended friends and guardians, the carpet-baggers and 
scalawags! The moneys appropriated for the education 
of their children have been stolen and squandered ! The 
free schools are closed ! The hundreds of thousands of 
dollars appropriated to purchase for them homes 
have gone the same way — to enrich scoundrels — and 
leaves them homeless and houseless ! Their taxes have 
been increased until the burden is oppressive and in- 
tolerable ! It is a well-known fact in political economy 
that the laboring classes have, ultimately, most of the 
taxes to pay, although, in the first instance, levied on 
property. The merchant adds the duties he pays to the 
price of his goods, and the consumer restores the tax; 
so the tax on lands and personal property causes the 
owner to charge higher rents and pay less for labor. 

The two best and sincerest friends the colored people 
ever had are Horace Greeley and Charles Sumner. 
These gentlemen have urged the colored people not to 
antagonize themselves, as a race, to the white people, 
but vote independently and for honest and intelligent 
men. Their political rights are secured by Constitu- 
tional Amendments, and they have nothing to fear ex- 
cept the bad men they put in office and who falsely tell 
them that there is danger in voting for or confiding in 
their former masters and friends. 

How any one who loves his State and values civil 
liberty can prefer General Grant to Horace Greeley is 
strange, passing strange. In time of profound peace Gen- 
eral Grant issued his proclamation, ordering the people 



LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

disperse and return to their homes in certain counties. 
They were at home at that very time, and no disturbance 
had taken place for months previously. The civil au- 
thorities were not resisted, and were capable of making any 
and all arrests required. But notwithstanding all this, 
the President, immediately after his proclamation, sent 
his military into seven or eight counties and made 
arrests without warrant, and the persons arrested, inno- 
cent and guilty, were hurried off to jail and the sacred 
writ of habeas corpus denied them ! 

In your communication notifying me of my nomina- 
tion you express an earnest wish for me " at once to 
enter in a thorough and vigorous canvass to secure my 
election, which by the Convention is deemed a matter of 
vital interest, not only to the Congressional District, but 
to the whole State." In obedience to this injunction, I 
will, as soon as the court is over at this place, visit all 
the counties in the Congressional District and extend 
my acquaintance with the people who have been so kind 
and confiding. In the meantime I should like to hear 
from my friends as to appointments they may see proper 
to make. With great respect and esteem, I am truly 
and sincerely yours, etc. 

B. F. Perry. 



EDITORIALS 

Approving of the Nomination of Governor Perry for Congress. 



The Democratic Convention of the Fourth Congres- 
sional District, which assembled in Columbia on Mon- 
day, unanimously nominated the Hon. B. F. Perry as 
the Conservative and Democratic candidate. 

To this honorable distinction Mr. Perry is justly en- 
titled. Before the war, and up to the time that the Re- 
publican party, by its acts, gave evidence that its pur- 
pose was the subversion of the Constitution, and not 
the restoration of the Union, Mr. Perry was a staunch 
Union man. After the war he was appointed Pro- 
visional Governor of the State, and discharged the 
delicate duties of his office with tact and discretion. 
Upon the assembling of the Legislature he was elected 
United States Senator; but, like Governor Manning 
and the Hon. James B. Campbell, was refused his seat. 
At that time the drama of Radical reconstruction was 
about to begin. 

Mr. Perry is a gentleman of large experience in pub- 
lic affairs, and his strong will and high character will 
make him a fit representative of South Carolina upon 
the floor of Congress. Nor will the people of his dis- 
trict forget that Mr. Perry, although elected from the 
Fourth District, will represent the Conservatives of the 
whole State. From the Radical members we have 
nothing to expect. Mr. Perry will, in fact, be the 
mouth-piece of South Carolina Conservatism. A more 
honorable position no man could desire to fill. 

Mr. Perry can be elected and we believe that he will. 
All that is needed is organization and work. Wallace, 
the Radical candidate, is notoriously weak, and with 
204 



EDITORIALS. 205 

a fair election, which they will have, the Conservatives 
can defeat him handsomely. The campaign will be 
short. Let it be sharp and decisive. — Charleston News. 

The real voice of the intelligence, worth and capital 
of South Carolina, is to-day without a single representa- 
tive in the Congressional House. It is without audience 
or champion. It has no opportunity for truth or vin- 
dication. The Fourth District affords that opportunity. 
On a legitimate vote it can be handsomely carried. 
With the high character and liberal sentiments of 
Governor Perry, he should sweep the District by an 
overwhelming majority. Both wings of the Republican 
party, which profess to be in earnest for good men and 
reform, have now the opportunity of testing the sincerity 
or falsity of their utterances. 

Governor Perry is one of the most distinguished 
members of the South Carolina Bar. In 1832, while 
quite a young man, he espoused the Union cause, and 
was one of the leaders of the opposition to Nullification. 
He was the candidate of the Union party in 1834 for 
Congress, and was defeated by the Hon. Warren R. 
Davis, one of the most popular men in the State, by a 
majority of only sixty votes. From 1836 until the 
beginning of the late war, Governor Perry served in 
either branch of the Legislature. Although the con- 
sistent advocate of the Union, he always possessed the 
esteem of all parties as a man of high talents, unswerv- 
ing principles, sincere convictions, and unquestioned 
integrity. 

At the close of the war he was selected by President 
Johnson as the Provisional Governor of South Carolina. 
Since then he has been devoted to the practice of his 
profession. His election is of the highest interest to 
the people of this Commonwealth. It is essential for 
the cause of justice and right, and that South Carolina 
may at least have one worthy representative in the Halls 
of Congress. — Charleston Courier. 



206 EDITORIALS. 

The Convention of the Fourth Congressional District 
settled upon the Hon. B. F. Perry as the Conservative 
candidate for Congress. There is, perhaps, no man 
more generally known throughout the State than ex- 
Governor Perry, nor one more universally esteemed and 
respected for sterling qualities of head and heart. His 
nomination cannot fail to give satisfaction to all good 
and intelligent citizens of the District, and his election 
will be a source of rejoicing to the entire State. It will 
be well for South Carolina to have one true and trusty 
servant in Congress, and no better man could be selected 
than B. F. Perry. A man of the purest character, of 
distinguished ability, and of chivalrous devotion to 
South Carolina, he will be as a pillar of strength to us at 
Washington. 

The only cause of regret at his nomination rests in 
the fact that we will lose his services as State Senator 
from Greenville, for which position he has been nomi- 
nated. We trust that the people of Greenville will give 
us their next best man at any rate. As to availability, 
we also think that no better choice could possibly have 
been made. Governor Perry has always been liberal in 
his political views, and never much of a party man. 
As opposed to A. S. Wallace, the Radical nominee, he 
cannot fail to get the vote of every decent citizen in the 
Fourth District, who has sense sufficient to appreciate 
his duty to the State. — Columbia Phoenix. 

The Fourth Congressional District has it in its power 
to defeat Mr. Wallace, the Radical nominee, and to send 
to Congress a worthy representative of the white ele- 
ment of the State. 

It is a duty which the District owes to itself and the 
State to effect this result. It is thought that ex-Gov- 
ernor B. F. Perry will accept the nomination which has 
been tendered to him by the recent Democratic Conven- 
tion of the Fourth District. He is eminently fitted for 
the post. Ex-Governor Perry has, perhaps, more of a 



EDITORIALS. 207 

national reputation than any other South Carolinian — 
Judge Orr excepted. He is known to be a man of the 
highest integrity. He has an imposing presence and an 
impressive delivery. Such a man would command the 
attention of the House. The cause of this outraged 
State would find in him a noble champion. Assuming 
that he will accept the nomination, we take occasion to 
say that we deem it the duty of the Fourth District to 
use every legitimate effort to secure ex-Governor 
Perry's election. 

Let a generous and a general rally be made in this 
behalf. Nor let the ex-Governor himself fail to do his 
part in the canvass. — Columbia Carolinian. 

The Convention of the Fourth Congressional District, 
which met in Columbia on the 9th ult., unanimously 
nominated, as a candidate for Congress, the Hon. B. F. 
Perry, of Greenville, one of the most distinguished 
citizens of the State, and a gentleman of unblemished 
reputation. Mr. Perry is well known throughout the 
Congressional District, and his name is familiar to 
nearly every household in South Carolina. In him we 
find everything to admire — talents, morals, dignity, 
courage, consistency of conduct, and, in fact, all those 
attributes that adorn and beautify human character. 
Through a long series of years he has served with great 
fidelity his native State, and has contributed no little 
towards establishing for her a fame and record that will 
be the proud heritage of future generations. 

Prior to the war, Governor Perry was identified with 
an element that opposed the nullification and secession 
doctrines of Mr. Calhoun, and deprecated any move- 
ment looking towards a disruption of the Union. But 
when the people of the State declared their intention 
to withdraw from the Union, he went with his people, 
though under protest, believing that so extraordinary a 
step would end disastrously. No one has been more 
fervent in devotion to South Carolina, in her troubles 



208 EDITORIALS. 

and trials, than Governor Perry. He has often been 
weighed in the balance, and never found wanting. Cool, 
deliberate, sagacious, and of wonderful foresight, he has 
stood ever nobly by the old ship of State, as one of her 
most trustworthy pilots, and it is eminently proper that 
at this crisis he should be called from private life and 
receive new honors and renewed evidences of the confi- 
dence reposed in him. 

It is the duty of our people to see to it that so great 
and so good a man is chosen to represent them. He can 
be triumphantly elected in a fair contest, and such we 
are determined to have. Honest men of Fairfield, we 
appeal to you to pull off your coats, and go to work for 
our noble standard bearer. — Winnsboro' News. 

Gov. B. F. Perry. — This distinguished old Roman 
has been unanimously nominated as a candidate to rep- 
resent the Fourth District in Congress, which is now 
misrepresented by the scalawag A. S. Wallace. We 
confess we regret the action of the Convention, as we 
are satisfied that he can do his people more good in the 
State Senate than in any other position. His purity 
and boldness of character would be a standing rebuke 
to the Treasury thieves, and his very presence there 
would measurably stay the hands of the robbers. Gov- 
ernor Perry is worthy of any and all the honors the 
State can confer upon him, and as we cannot have him 
in the State Senate, we trust and believe he will be tri- 
umphantly elected to Congress. — Georgetown Times. 

The Convention that met in Columbia on the 9th inst., 
nominated the Hon. B. F. Perry for Congress. In our 
judgment no better nomination could have been made. 
In some things of importance we have differed from 
Mr. Perry, and we still differ, but we have never enter- 
tained a doubt of his honesty, his ability, or his expe- 
rienced statesmanship. In addition, he is a man of 
undoubted courage, and anywhere and everywhere, if 



EDITORIALS. 209 

the occasion demand, he will express himself honestly 
and fearlessly. The Convention advised that each 
county enter upon the prescribed form for obtaining 
supervisors of the election. This is well and wise. Let 
us now go into the canvass with a determination to win. 
If we do our duty we are certain of the victory, and the 
State will receive the benefit of Mr. Perry's services in 
the next Congress. — Laurens Herald. 

The unanimous nomination for Congress of ex-Gov- 
ernor B. F. Perry, by the Democratic Convention of the 
Fourth Congressional District, derives its significance 
from the fact that this is the only one of the Congressional 
Districts which will likely send a true representative of 
the intelligence, education and worth of the State to 
Congress. We rejoice, then, that we will likely have 
one true representative from South Carolina in the 
National councils, who will raise an indignant protest 
against the injustice which has turned over the white 
population of the State to the tender mercies of the 
scalawag, the carpet-bagger and the freedman. 

A more eligible candidate than Governor Perry, or 
one who will more likely draw out the conservative 
strength, could not have been selected. Of high char- 
acter, large experience, distinguished abilities, and a con- 
sistent Union record, he will likely sweep the District 
by an overwhelming vote. — Abbeville Press and Banner. 

At the convention of the Fourth Congressional Dis- 
trict, held in Columbia on Monday, 9th inst., the Hon. 
B. F. Perry was unanimously selected as the Conserva- 
tive candidate to represent the people of the District in 
Congress. 

We feel confident that no man could have been 
selected who would be more acceptable to the true and 
honest people of the District than Major Perry, and we 
have no doubt of his election. He is eminently a rep- 
resentative man, and will honor the position and the 



210 EDITORIALS. 

people he represents. His pure, moral character, 
undoubted abilities, long experience as a statesman, bold- 
ness and persistency in defending the right and opposing 
the wrong, which even his opponents are compelled to 
acknowledge, makes him a power of strength as our 
standard bearer, and a terror to the venal and corrupt 
usurper who opposes him. If any man in this Con- 
gressional District can unite the votes of all the honest 
and true people, that man is Major Perry. — Union 
Times. 

The New York World penned the tribute below to 
Governor Perry, under the impression that he had been 
elected to a seat in Congress from this District, and 
although he should have enjoyed that distinction, he 
was allowed to suffer defeat through the indifference of 
the white voters and cheating of Radicals : 

" Ex-Governor Perry. — The returns of the South 
Carolina election indicate the cheering fact that ex-Gov- 
ernor Perry, the anti-Radical nominee for Congress, in 
the Fourth District, is elected. The Radical majority 
in this District at the last Congressional election was 
3,304, and if Mr. Perry be really successful there is 
double reason for congratulation : first, that we are to 
have for the first time since 1860 an honest man and a 
gentleman in Congress from South Carolina ; and sec- 
ond, that as the same causes operating in his district 
must have been at work in the others, the disintegration 
of the Radical party throughout the State has fairly 
begun. So long as it stood intact, dominating unfortu- 
nate South Carolina to its remotest corner with an 
unbroken negro majority of 30,000, there was no chance 
for such a man as ex-Governor Perry ; and yet of all 
men he should have represented the State, and could, 
in representing it, have been most acceptable to the 
North. Alone, with we believe but one exception 
among the public men of the Palmetto State, he with- 
stood secession, and it is yet a remembrance in many 



EDITORIALS. 211 

men's minds how dauntlessly he championed the cause 
of the Union at a time when that sort of advocacy 
involved not alone contumely and insult, but the wrench- 
ing away of oneself from one's own people. As the 
Governor would rise to plead even in extremis against 
secession, the sneer and scowl ran round the chamber, 
and more than once upon adjournment of the conven- 
tion's daily session the boys and riff-raff of the galleries 
threw fruit-rinds and nut-shells and other refuse on the 
one man who forbade a unanimous secession. On the 
triumph of the Union cause it seems as if this man 
should have had some recognition of his devotion, but 
the reconstruction scheme of Congress trampled him 
down in the mire under the negro's foot as remorse- 
lessly as it did General Wade Hampton and Senator 
Chestnut. It is only by 'rebel' votes that South Caro- 
lina's greatest Unionist seems assured a seat in Congress 
to-day." 



GOV. PERRY'S ADDRESS 

TO HIS CONSTITUENCY. 



To the Democratic and Conservative Voters of the Fourth 
Congressional District of South Carolina, comprising 
the counties of York, Chester, Fairfield, Union, Spar- 
tanburg, Laurens, Greenville, Pickens and Oconee. 

Fellow-Citizens : — I desire to address a few words 
to you on the result of the late Congressional election. 
So far as I am personally concerned, I have no regrets 
to express. When I accepted your nomination, which 
was unsolicited and unexpected, I had no strong hopes 
of success, knowing, as I did, that the Radical party 
was in the ascendancy, and would not scruple at any 
fraud and corruption necessary to maintain their power 
in the Congressional District. My health, age and dis- 
inclination to enter public life again would have been a 
reasonable justification in refusing the honor you con- 
ferred on me. But I thought it a duty every good 
citizen owed his country, under the present alarming 
condition of public affairs, to accept any position which 
might be assigned him by the people. 

The canvass through which I have just passed was a 
very short one, and I entered it actively and zealously. 
I may further say, that it was both pleasant and agree- 
able, and I enjoyed it exceedingly. In passing through 
the Congressional District, I met many of my old 
and valued friends, whom I had not seen for years, 
and I made a great many new friends, whom I shall 
ever remember, and never cease to value whilst life 
lasts. Everywhere my reception was most kind and 



ADDRESS. 213 

cordial, and fully compensates me for all the time and 
trouble of the canvass. But although I do not regret 
personally, as I have said, our disappointment, yet, as a 
citizen of South Carolina, I do regret, lament and de- 
plore the success of the Radical party throughout the 
State, in the recent election for Congress and State 
officers. It seems to indicate that there is to be no 
change in the present corrupt, oppressive and infamously 
rotten State Government, or hope of representation for 
the white people of South Carolina in the Congress of 
the United States. Sixty thousand voters, representing 
nearly 300,000 persons, owning, in a great measure, all 
the property of the State, agricultural, commercial and 
manufacturing, and comprising in the same ratio all the 
intelligence, education, virtue and patriotism of the 
State, are without the semblance of representation in a 
government purporting to be republican. 

The State Government has, confessedly, fallen into 
the hands of rogues, swindlers and corrupt men, who 
have openly plundered the public Treasury, robbed the 
people, forged State bonds, increased the indebtedness of 
the State $27,000,000 in four years, levied and collected 
intolerable taxes, and enriched themselves by the most 
bare- faced bribery and corruption, as well as by arrant 
roguery and plunder. And yet the result of the recent 
election shows that these rogues, swindlers and robbers 
are to be reinstated in authority for two years to come, 
with carte blanche to rob, steal and plunder ad libitum. 

It is sad and melancholy to think that the honest, 
patriotic and virtuous white people of South Carolina 
are in some measure responsible for this horrible and 
appalling condition of public aifairs. In many counties 
they did not turn out to vote on the day of election. 
Can human weakness and human apathy exceed this ? 
The negro, carpet-baggers and scalawags turned out, 
almost to a man. Is it not passing strange that the 
stupid negroes should feel more interest and manifest 
more zeal in sustaining a corrupt, rotten government, 



214 ADDRESS TO HIS 

and electing to office rogues and scoundrels, who do not 
benefit him in the least, than an educated, intelligent 
and patriotic gentleman does in trying to overturn such 
a government and put honest men in office, as legisla- 
tors, governors, senators, judges, etc. ? He sees the 
corruption, feels the hand of the oppressor, and bears 
the crushing burden of his taxes, and yet will not go 
from his house to vote for a change in rulers or govern- 
ment. It may be well said, there is no accounting for 
human conduct. 

I know that the negroes are banded together, as a 
race, under the lead of vile carpet-baggers and infamous 
scalawags, who would as quickly sell their God for 
thirty pieces of silver as they have betrayed their race 
and country for office, promotion and the hope of steal- 
ing, swindling and plundering. But, notwithstanding 
this antagonism to the white people, I know that an 
influence might be brought to bear on them which they 
could not resist, if the property-holders of the State 
were so disposed. Chief Justice Chase said to me in 
1868, that we need not apprehend any difficulty in con- 
trolling the negro vote in South Carolina. " Brains 
and property," said he, "will always control labor." 
I replied this might be, if it were not for the carpet- 
baggers. He said the carpet-baggers would soon be- 
come identified with the citizens or leave the country. 

But the carpet-bagger in South Carolina, instead of 
leaving the country, or identifying himself with the 
people, has become, with the scalawag, through their 
influence over the negro, a sort of aristocrat or autocrat 
and tribune of the colored race. Now, we must get 
rid of these autocrats and tribunes. We must dethrone 
them and break their sceptre by destroying their in- 
fluence over the negro. This can only be done by 
teaching the negro that he is dependent on us, and not 
we on him. 

There is another matter which I wish to bring to 
your view and consideration. Franklin J. Moses, Gov- 



CONSTITUENCY. 215 

ernor elect, and all the leading members elected to the 
Legislature, with the State officials, declared most 
solemnly before the election that they would repudiate 
all the fraudulent State debt and forged bonds, and re- 
duce the taxes levied on the people. You may be con- 
fiding enough to believe this. I do not believe one 
word of it. I think it is done for the purpose of de- 
ceiving the people, and levying black mail on the bond- 
holders. Mark what I tell you. The bond -holders 
will contribute $200,000 or $300,000, and bribe the 
Governor and Legislature to pay the interest on the 
fraudulent debt and forged bonds. 

Already Mr. Gary has been dismissed from the State 
Auditorship because he would not consent to order the 
collection of taxes for this purpose. His place has been 
filled by Governor Scott with a man who ought to be 
in the penitentiary instead of a high and honorable 
office. Now, what is to be done? The payment of 
these taxes is simple robbery — nothing more, nothing 
less My advice to the people of South Carolina is, to 
refuse positively and unanimously. Let us pay all 
taxes necessary to defray the necessary expenses of the 
Government, but not a cent for this fraudulent debt, 
either principal or interest. 

I will mention to you that I have heard of great 
frauds in the election. It is said that hundreds of 
North Carolina negroes, at work on the Air-Line Rail- 
road, who had not been in the State twelve months, 
voted in several counties. It is further said that hun- 
dreds under twenty-one years of age likewise voted all 
over the Congressional District. And it is likewise 
rumored that gross frauds were practised at several 
places in Laurens, by refusing to open the polls at the 
proper time, and throwing out a large number of 
Democratic votes at Clinton. These matters are for 
future investigation. In conclusion, I return you, who 
went to the polls and voted, my most grateful thanks ; 
and to such as were too indifferent to turn out at the 



216 ADDRESS. 

election, I can only say that I hope you will never be 
so apathetic again. 



THE ANCIENTS AND THE MODERNS. 

A COMPARISON. 



Lecture before the Cheraw Lyceum, South Carolina, June 2, 1876. 



Gentlemen of the Cheraw Lyceum : — In ap- 
pearing before you this evening, I feel a great appre- 
hension of disappointing your expectations. My life 
having been spent at the bar and in politics, and mak- 
ing no pretensions to science or literature, I am con- 
scious of my inability to give you a lecture worthy of 
your learning and the reputation of your Society. 

THE LYCEUM. 

The Lyceum was first established by Aristotle, in the 
shady groves of Illissis, near the city of Athens. There 
the young men of Greece assembled to hear the stagarile 
discourse on Philosophy, in all its branches, comprising 
Ethics, Logic, Politics, Natural History, Astronomy 
and Religion. I am the merest smatterer in all these 
branches of human knowledge, and inferior to those 
whom I have been called upon to lecture. But in your 
kind invitation you generously extended to me the 
privilege of selecting the subject of my address. You 
did like a learned judge told me, was his habit in the 
circuit of sending to " mine host " for a book to read. 
He never indicated what kind of book he wished. 
This he left entirely to the selection of his host, whilst 
he amused himself by seeing what kind of book was 
sent. 

Let me first congratulate you, gentlemen, on the suc- 
217 



218 LECTURE. 

cess of your Lyceum. You have already celebrated its 
twentieth anniversary. This speaks well for your liter- 
ary taste, sociability, and love of learning. It would 
be well if your praiseworthy example were followed in 
all the towns and villages of the State. It would do 
much to improve and elevate the tone of our literature 
and sociability, as fellow-citizens of a once proud and 
noble commonwealth. Society in South Carolina has 
been greatly demoralized since our reconstruction as a 
State, under the degrading, oppressive, and unconstitu- 
tional legislation of the Congress of the United States. 
But I do not despair of the restoration of the ancient 
honor and proud fame of the old Palmetto State. 
Literary clubs and the interchange of lectures will 
greatly promote this most desirable result. Men are 
bolder, more improving, and more aggressive when 
united than when acting separately. 

THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS. 

The subject of my lecture this evening, gentlemen, 
will be a comparison between " The Ancients and the 
Moderns," in literature, science, and the aesthetic arts; 
religion, philosophy, government, and useful improve- 
ments, manners and customs. In selecting so wide a 
range for my discourse, I must necessarily be brief in 
all my comparisons, and my lecture will hence be most 
imperfect. It would require volumes instead of a lec- 
ture, to do justice to this great subject. Moreover, it 
would require vastly more of learning and research 
than I possess to handle the subject properly. But 
whilst a general outline is much easier, and requires less 
learning than a full and minute comparison, it may 
likewise be more interesting to my hearers. 

What is "ancient"' and what is " modern" might be 
an embarrassing division, if we accepted the new theory 
of evolution and progressive development, which teaches 
that this world has existed for countless millions of 
ages, and that man is the descendant of the monkey, 



LECTURE. 219 

and the monkey again the descendant, through many 
changes, of a still inferior species of creation. But I 
will not dive into this strange and dark mystery, pro- 
mulgated by these modern scientists, for my divisions 
between the ancients and the moderns. I prefer the 
historical classification, which sets down Egypt, Africa, 
Greece, Rome, Persia, China and Hindoostan as an- 
cients, and the present kingdoms of Europe and the 
Republics of America as modern. 

The existence of man on this earth I will not under- 
take to solve. Whether he has been here six thousand 
years, or six hundred thousand, I will not pretend to 
say. But geneological history, which cannot lie, teaches 
us that this earth has existed centuries beyond our his- 
torical era, and that birds and animals did then exist on 
the earth. Their foot-prints are still visible. 

HUMAN NATURE THE SAME IN ALL AGES. 

History teaches us that man, so far back as we can 
trace him, in ancient times, has been the same creature 
that he is now, in shape and form, as well as in intellect 
and passions. War, religion and love have been his 
grand characteristics in all ages and countries, whether 
savage or civilized. In this respect there is no differ- 
ence between the ancients and moderns, or between 
civilization and barbarism. Fighting, praying, and 
making love, have gone on and will go on to the end of 
man's existence, unless the theory of gradual develop- 
ment is true, and he becomes, in the course of time, a 
higher and better order of being, more noble and more 
wise, less revengeful and less excitable. It is remark- 
able that notwithstanding Christianity and the higher 
civilization of modern times, man's passion for war has 
not subsided. The religion of Christ teaches peace and 
good will on earth to all mankind. Almost all the 
civilized nations of modern times have adopted the holy 
faith and precepts of Christianity, and yet they seem as 
eager to go to war and destroy each other as the heathen 



220 LECTURE. 

and barbarian did in the remotest antiquity. How is 
this to be accounted for, except on the ground that 
man's nature is the same that it always has been, as 
well as his shape and form of being ? Neither Chris- 
tianity nor a higher order of civilization has been able 
to alter or change it. 

But although human nature is and always has been 
the same, yet there are no two persons, in the countless 
millions who have lived on this globe, who were ex- 
actly alike, mentally, morally and physically. There 
are shades and marked differences between them. And 
so it has been with the nations of the earth. The Ro- 
mans, Grecians, Egyptians and Persians were very un- 
like in many of their national traits of character. So, 
too, with the modern nations of Europe, Asia, Africa 
and America. There are noticeable traits of distinction 
between the French and English, between the Germans 
and Russians, and between the Italians and Spaniards. 

RELIGION. 

In my comparison between the ancient and modern 
civilized nations of the earth, I shall begin with their 
religion, which is the first marked and most important 
characteristic of the two periods. There is no people, 
however debased and ignorant they may be, without 
religion of some kind. It seems to be an instinct of the 
human heart, and a part of our nature, like that of 
hunger, thirst, or any other desire. The Rationalists of 
the French Revolution attempted to abolish all religion. 
They might as well have attempted to abolish, by an 
edict, human nature itself! Bonaparte was wiser than 
all the rational philosophy of France, and knowing that 
no people could exist without religion, he made haste to 
restore the ancient religious faith of the French nation. 

The religion of the ancient Egyptians, Grecians, 
Romans, Carthagenians, and all the Eastern nations, was 
gross, demoralizing, and most absurd. Their gods and 
goddesses, whom they most devoutly worshiped, were 



LECTUEE. 221 

represented as deceitful, cruel, lustful, and full of the 
basest passions of human nature. The greatest and best 
of them were drawn from the characters of men and 
women, and very bad men and women too ! No nation 
of antiquity seems to have had any clear and distinct 
idea or belief of a future state, or the immortality of 
the soul. Even the Hebrews, who worshiped the true 
and living God, the great Creator of Heaven and Earth, 
and all that composes this world, were blind as to the 
future, and did not look clearly and distinctly beyond 
this life. Their rewards and punishments were of this 
world. Socrates, it is true, taught the Athenians the 
immortality of the soul, and was executed for his impiety ! 
His argument on this subject, as given by Plato in his 
Phsedo, though celebrated, must appear to the Christian 
believer as feeble and inconclusive. Amongst the 
Romans, Cicero and Csesar expressed some doubts 
whether there might not be a future state. The trans- 
migration of souls, absurd as it is, was a much more gen- 
eral belief with the ancients. There was something in 
the human heart which told them that there ought to be 
some punishment hereafter for the wicked who pros- 
pered in this life. 

In regard to religion, how infinitely superior are the 
modern Christian nations of Europe and America to the 
ancient heathen nations. How different is the pure 
morality and teachings of Christ, compared with the 
gross superstition of the Grecians and Romans, who were 
the most enlightened of all the ancients. How far below 
Christianity was their philosophy and morals. How so 
refined and intellectual a people as the ancient Grecians 
were, could have tolerated a superstition so absurd, is 
passing strange. But the early teachings of childhood 
and constant practice may make the human mind believe 
anything. The Turk and the Arab believe as firmly in the 
Koran, as the Christian does in the Bible. The Hindoo 
and the African are as sincere in their belief of Buddhism 



222 LECTURE. 

and Fetticism as any worshipers are in their belief of 
Christianity. 

SCULPTURE. 

In all the aesthetic arts, the ancient Hellenes or 
Grecians were greatly superior to any modern nation. 
They had more genius, more taste, and a greater love of 
the beautiful in nature. Modern sculpture, with all the 
influences of a purer religion and higher civilization, is 
not equal to the divine statuary of Phidias, Praxitiles 
and Cleomanes. The Olympian Jupiter, and the Athena 
or Minerva of Phidias surpassed all statues of ancient or 
modern art in grace, beauty, purity and grandeur. The 
latter was carved in gold and ivory. The statue of the 
Cuidion Aphrodite or Venus by Praxitiles, was never 
equaled in representing the softer beauties of the human 
form, and was a masterpiece of the sensual charms. 
The statue of Venus de Medici was the work of Cleo- 
menes, at a later period of Grecian history. This great 
work of genius, so celebrated for its beauty and sym- 
metry in marble, has come down to modern times, and 
speaks for itself. But the Olympian Jupiter, and 
Athena of Phidias are lost, as well as the Aphrodite of 
Praxitiles. But some of their sculpture has been preserved, 
and enough to show their wonderful genius. 

PAINTING. 

In painting, the Grecian Appelles stands unrivalled in 
history as an artist. His magnificent representation of 
Venus rising from the foam of the sea, was the 
admiration of both the Grecian and Roman world. It 
came into the possession of Augustus Caesar, and was 
destroyed by time and exposure. His likeness of Alex- 
ander the Great, holding a thunderbolt in his hand, sold 
for two hundred thousand dollars. The Romans seemed 
to have been deficient in this beautiful art, and produced 
no great painter. 



LECTURE. 223 



POETRY. 



In poetry, the Grecians again are fairly entitled to 
superiority over the moderns. Homer stands prominent 
as an epic poet. Neither Virgil, Milton, nor Dante can 
approach him in grandeur and sublimity. His existence 
is a myth, and his poems a learned prodigy. He is 
supposed to have lived eight hundred or a thousand 
years before the birth of Christ. There is a doubt with 
some learned antiquarians whether the Grecians had 
even a written language during the Homeric era. And 
yet his language is artistic, beautiful and perfect. It is 
wonderful that the Illiad and Odyssey should have been 
the production of so remote a period, and of a people so 
uncultivated as the Grecians then were. It proves that 
poetical genius requires no adventitious circumstances to 
immortalize itself. This was shown again in modern 
times by the Ayrshire ploughman. All the mighty 
geniuses who have succeeded Homer through the highest 
civilization and the most polished and refined ages for 
three thousand years, have never been able to equal him 
in an epic or heroic poem. No one who reads Homer 
in English can form a just idea of his versification and 
the beauty and grandeur of his thoughts. The fire and 
sublimity of his genius are lost in a translation. 

THE DRAMA. 

The drama, too, was carried to its highest perfection 
in Athens, four or five hundred years after Homer, by 
-ZEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. No dramatic poets 
of modern times have ever surpassed them. Shakespeare, 
Corneille and Racine may be compared to them, but in 
the artistic perfection of the drama were not their equals. 
But, as the great master of human nature and human 
passions, Shakespeare was greatly their superior. No 
poet has ever equaled him in that line. His dramas 
and the Bible are the best books anyone can read. 

It is remarkable that although the Grecians brought 



224 LECTURE. 

the drama to perfection so far as language and artistic 
skill were concerned, yet they never thought of intro- 
ducing female actresses on the stage. This great im- 
provement of the theatre was not made by the moderns 
till the reign of Charles the Second of England. Whilst 
bearded men were performing the parts of queens, prin- 
cesses and ladies, just after the marriage of Charles to 
Catharine of Braganza, a good theatrical joke is told, 
which may have suggested the change. The Portugal 
princess brought with her to England a long train of 
attendants, and amongst them one who was styled " the 
Queen's Barber." What his specialty was, excited 
some curiosity amongst the gay courtiers. One night 
at the theatre there was a great delay in the commence- 
ment of the performance. The audience became impa- 
tient and made strong demonstrations. A manager 
came forward and begged them to be patient as the 
delay was occasioned by having to shave the queen 
before she would make her appearance on the boards. 

By the introduction of females on the stage the 
moderns have achieved a great advantage over the 
ancients. In fact, this now gives the theatre its greatest 
attraction. How repugnant to our feelings would it be 
to see the parts of Juliet and Ophelia acted by the male 
sex. It would in a great measure destroy our interest 
in those plays. 

ORATORS. 

In oratory, the ancients had Demosthenes and Cicero, 
who have never been equaled by the moderns. It is 
needless to say that the orations of Demosthenes are 
perfect in the original. They are susceptible of no im- 
provement in language, reasoning or eloquence. Ed- 
mund Burke's speeches are more brilliant and Chatham's 
more ostentatious, but they both lack the beauty, sim- 
plicity, and power of Demosthenes. Sir James Mackin- 
tosh has said that Charles James Fox " was the most 
Demosthenean speaker since Demosthenes. He certainly 



LECTURE. 225 

possessed above all moderns that union of reason, sim- 
plicity and vehemence which formed the prince of 
orators." Cicero was a very diiferent orator from De- 
mosthenes, as diiferent as the Romans were from the 
Grecians. Demosthenes was purely intellectual, whilst 
Cicero was beautiful and ornate. The mind of the one 
was full of genius, and that of the other filled with 
learning and philosophy. Mr. Calhoun was an illustra- 
tion of the Grecian, and Edward Everett of the Roman. 
Great orators must have great occasions to call forth 
their eloquence. These occurrences have produced them 
in France, England and America, but none equal to De- 
mosthenes and Cicero. 

HISTORIANS. 

In the department of History, the moderns have no 
wish to equal Herodotus and Plutarch in interest and 
beauty, or Thucydides in philosophical terseness and 
perfection of style. Hume and Voltaire may approach 
in some measure in style, and Gibbon, Robertson, Ban- 
croft, Motley and Prescott, may equal in research and 
accuracy, but they are all still inferior. Grote's history 
of Greece is the greatest history of modern times, and 
deserves to have been written by a Grecian instead of 
an English banker. He was the prince of Democrats, 
and most nobly has he defended the Democracy of 
Athens. Xenophon, Polybius, Livy and Tacitus, are 
histories of great merit, but have been equaled by the 
moderns. 

MILITARY HEROES. 

In war, the heroic courage displayed by the Grecians 
at Thermopylae, Marathon, Platse and Salamis, cannot 
be surpassed. But it is impossible to award the palm 
of courage to ancients or moderns, where both have 
shown, in thousands of battles, the highest courage of 
which man is capable. For centuries Alexander the 
Great and Julius Csesar were regarded as the greatest 



226 LECTURE. 

generals the world had ever produced. In the eigh- 
teenth century, the French Revolution produced a 
greater than either of them, in Napoleon Bonaparte. 
Alexander and Caesar conquered half-civilized and effete 
nations. Napoleon subdued, with greatly inferior forces, 
the most civilized and warlike kingdoms and empires 
of Europe. He was still greater in statesmanship than 
either the Grecian or Roman. It is hard to believe 
that a greater intellect than Napoleon Bonaparte's was 
ever embodied in man. But his character was alto- 
gether imperfect. He was not only selfish and ambi- 
tious, but he regarded nothing in morals, religion, or 
justice, which stood in the way of his success. How 
totally different, in this respect, were Washington, 
William, Prince of Orange, and General Lee of the Con- 
federate army. In all history, ancient or modern, three 
nobler characters cannot be produced. They were grand 
in all the moral, intellectual and patriotic elements of 
greatness, as well as in the science of war. 

PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

In Physical Science and the mechanical arts, the 
moderns are greatly superior to the ancients. The Gre- 
cians, Romans, Egyptians and all the nations of anti- 
quity were totally ignorant of the true planetary system. 
They believed that the earth stood in the centre of the 
world, and that the sun and planets revolved around it. 
This belief was universal till the fifteenth century, 
when Copernicus first promulgated the true theory, 
that the sun was in the centre of our system ; that the 
earth, revolving on its axis daily, went round the sun 
once in twelve months. This theory was so startling, 
that even in the next century, Gallileo was arraigned 
before the Pontifical authorities in Rome for teaching 
it, and made to swear on his bended knees that he 
would no more promulgate such heretical doctrines. 
But on rising up, he could not resist saying in an under- 
tone, "E pur si muore" — it moves for all that. 



LECTURE. k 227 

The telescope is a modern invention, and was wholly 
unknown to the ancient astronomers. The Chaldeans, 
Egyptians, Assyrians and all the Eastern nations were 
very much given to the study of astronomy, and observ- 
ing all the signs of the heavens. They slept on the tops 
of their houses and contemplated the stars. They stud- 
ied the course of the planets and gave them names. 
But what progress could the wisest of them make in 
this sublime science without the modern telescope? 
With this great instrument the moderns have discov- 
ered new planets and even told where planets should 
be before they were seen. We now know certainly 
that the fixed stars, which the ancients regarded as very 
small bodies compared to the sun and moon, are larger 
than the sun, and are illuminating other worlds, as our 
sun illuminates this world. The comets, whose appear- 
ance filled the ancients with awe and great terror, are 
now well understood and their returns calculated with 
certainty. By means of the spectroscope, another won- 
derful invention of recent time, we are enabled to tell 
the substances of all the heavenly bodies by their light. 
The sun, instead of being a flame or gaseous light, is 
found to be a substance not very dissimilar to the earth. 

PHILOSOPHY. 

In philosophy or metaphysics, as distinct from 
science, the Grecians were far ahead of all their cotem- 
poraries. Their most illustrious names adorn this 
branch of human learning. Socrates, Plato and Aris- 
totle, besides a host of others, were teachers of philoso- 
phy and morals at Athens. But how inferior were they 
all to the moderns in morals. In this respect, Christianity 
has given the moderns their great superiority over the 
ancient heathens. Socrates, who taught the immor- 
tality of the soul, laid down rules for the successful 
seduction of women. Aristotle, the greatest intellect of 
antiquity, inculcated the doctrine that it was right to 
practice infanticide where the parents were poor and 



228 LECTURE. 

unable to support their offspring. Plato, in his Repub- 
lic, boldly proclaims a community of wives as a funda- 
mental law of the state. The bare mention of such doc- 
trines which were prevalent in Greece and Rome, the 
most highly cultivated and intellectual of the ancients, 
must shock modern humanity and refinement. In 
Sparta, the public authorities took charge of the unna- 
tural and horrible crime of infanticide, and relieved the 
parents of murdering their own children by doing it 
themselves. Where there was any parental feeling left, 
the infant was exposed under the hope that the si^ht of 
it perishing might appeal to an emotion in the breast of 
a stranger which was lost in the parent. 

How much better would it have been for the legis- 
lators of Greece and Rome to have enacted the Turkish 
law which requires the parties to show that they are 
able to support their offspring before they are allowed 
to marry. Indeed there is great wisdom and humanity 
in such a law, and it would prevent untold misery and 
wretchedness. No doubt it would be a very unpopular 
one with the thoughtless and reckless young men and 
women everywhere. 

NAVIGATION. 

The mariner's compass was unknown to the Grecians, 
Romans, Carthagenians and Phoenicians, who were the 
most enterprising and successful navigators of the ocean. 
Their voyages were short, and pretty much confined to 
the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the wastes of 
Europe and Africa. Herodotus, however, mentions a 
voyage around the whole continent of Africa which did 
not gain credence. These navigators stated one fact 
which proves that their voyage may have been made, 
and which satisfied the Grecians that the whole story 
was a fable. They said they sailed till the sun appeared 
in the north ! This, of course, was the case as soon as 
they crossed the line. When the magnetic needle was 
first used is unknown to the world. The honor has 



LECTURE. 229 

been claimed for Floria Groja about the beginning of the 
fourteenth century. But it is certain that something of 
the kind was known to the Chinese long anterior to that 
period. Although the properties and uses of the mag- 
net have been known for centuries throughout the civ- 
ilized world, its attraction, like gravitation, is still a 
mystery, and perhaps will remain so forever. 

LITERATURE. 

The ancients had great difficulties to encounter and 
overcome in literature. Their books were all copied 
with a pen. The art of printing was unknown to them. 
It is most remarkable that this great invention, and so 
necessary to a literary people, should not have been 
made by the Grecians and Romans. That a people so 
full of genius and intellect, so distinguished for their 
invention and love of the fine arts as the Athenians were, 
should have failed to make this discovery, is indeed 
most wonderful and unaccountable. Seals and signets 
and stamps were not only in use amongst the Grecians 
and Romans, but amongst the Assyrians, Egyptians and 
Hebrews. Even their bricks were impressed with char- 
acters stamped in the clay, and yet they never thought 
of copying these characters. It would seem that the 
labor and expense of copying so many books as were 
then in use, would have insured the invention of print- 
ing by movable type. Necessity, it is said, is the 
mother of invention. When the Southern planters 
began to grow cotton, their first thought was to invent 
some machinery for separating the seed from the lint, 
without this, cotton was of little value. Mrs. General 
Green suggested to Mr. Forsyth, of Georgia, who was 
on a visit to her, and was lamenting the difficulty of 
getting the cotton-lint separated from the seed, that 
there was in her house a very ingenious young man, who 
could perhaps invent some machine for that purpose. 
Whitney was called, and he immediately set to work 
and made the cotton-gin. 



230 LECTURE. 

The Chinese, from their earliest history, did print 
books on engraved blocks, but it was reserved for the 
fifteenth century to make this most important invention 
of printing with movable type. Coster, a citizen of 
Haarlem, in Holland, first used movable type made of 
wood, tin aud lead, in 1423. Faust, in 1450, used 
metallic type, cast in plaster moulds. The libraries of 
the ancients, when all their books had to be copied with 
a pen, must* have been very limited. This is pretty 
well proven by the private libraries found in the ruins 
of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The expense and labor 
of copying books before printing was discovered, may 
have had the good effect of preventing so many trifling 
works being thrown on the public, as the moderns have 
every month, week and day in the year. 

The ancients did not have that pleasure which the 
moderns enjoy so much, of reading the daily newspapers 
every morning containing the stirring events of the pre- 
ceding day all over the world. The Romans had a sort 
of substitute for our newspapers in their acta diurna, 
which were daily written reports of public occurrences. 
The English had, during the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries, something of the kind, in written " News Let- 
ters," ballads and pamphlets, furnished the court and 
aristocracy. But the first printed newspaper was pub- 
lished in Germany in 1662. There was one published 
in Italy about the same time. Who can estimate the 
thousands now published all over the world, or the enjoy- 
ment they afford the reading community in every civil- 
ized nation? The newspaper in modern times, by 
making information general, has destroyed, in a great 
measure, the power and influence of the ancient orator, 
in swaying for good or evil, the masses of his fellow- 
citizens. 

INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES. 

It is likewise surprising that the utilization of steam 
was not discovered by the ancients. The power of 



LECTURE. 231 

steam must have been known to them ; they saw it in 
boiling their daily food, but they never attempted to use 
it in any way. This was not done by the moderns with 
all their science and learning till the eighteenth cen- 
tury. The application of steam to navigation, rail- 
roads and the mechanic arts, has revolutionized the 
world in commerce, travelling and machinery. Our 
advantages over the ancients in this respect cannot be 
over-estimated ; it enables us to go around this globe in 
eighty-five days. The commerce of the most distant 
nations can now be exchanged in a few weeks. The 
successful application of steam to navigation is due to 
an American, Robert Fulton, and the first railway pro- 
jected in the world to be exclusively run by the steam 
engine was the Charleston and Hamburg railroad ; 
when finished it was also the longest railway in the 
world. 

That the Grecians and Romans should not have in- 
vented the electric telegraph as a means of communi- 
cation is not so remarkable. The wonder is that it 
should ever have been invented at all. It would seem 
an impossibility for a circumstance happening in Lon- 
don to be transmitted across the Atlantic ocean in a few 
minutes and be known all over the world in a few 
hours. The consequence is, that the whole civilized world 
is made, as it were, one community. This, too, is an 
invention perfected by an American, Samuel Finley 
Breese Morse. It is certainly the most extraordinary 
invention that has ever been nTade, and the inventor 
has been honored and rewarded by every kingdom and 
empire in Europe. Franklin, another American citizen, 
had previously immortalized his name by drawing 
lightning from the clouds and making its properties 
familiar to science. 

Gunpowder was unknown to the Grecians and 
Romans. The Hindoos are said to have used it in bat- 
tle at a very early period, and by means of it to have 
repulsed Alexander the Great, but this is somewhat 



232 LECTURE. 

doubtful. The composition of gunpowder was first 
made known by Roger Bacon in 1270. He says, char- 
coal, sulphur and saltpetre when mixed and well pounded 
will produce an explosion, and was used for the amuse- 
ment of children. But not till the fourteenth century 
was its uses as a powerful destructive in war generally 
made known. It may be a question whether it has not 
preserved more lives in battle than it has destroyed; 
certainly more combatants were killed in battle in 
ancient than in modern times, in proportion to the num- 
bers engaged. The warriors in ancient times met in 
close combat and retreat was very difficult. In conse- 
quence of the use of cannons and small fire-arms the 
moderns are enabled to fight at a more respectful dis- 
tance and can retreat when beaten. With the Grecians 
and Romans, and all ancient nations, physical strength 
had a great deal to do in gaining the victory ; fire-arms 
put all upon an equality. 

MEDICINE. 

In the science of medicine the ancients were far be- 
hind the moderns, although they produced Hypocrates, 
Galen and Celsus, and made the healing art a science. 
Before their time medicine and superstition were united, 
and heathen priests were (he doctors. During the dark 
ages, the Christian priest once more became a doctor, 
and professed to cure the body as well as the soul. At 
the same time the village barber was also the village 
surgeon. But the discoveries which have been made in 
medicine and its cognate sciences with the study of 
anatomy, which was neglected by the Grecians and 
Romans, and the discovery of the circulation of the 
blood in the human system, have placed the modern 
practitioners immeasurably beyond the ancients. It is 
said that Aristotle came very near discovering the cir- 
culation of the blood, but it was left to be made two 
thousand years afterwards by an Englishman, Harvey. 



LECTURE. 233 

AGRICULTURE. 

The Romans seem to have paid more attention to 
agriculture than any of the ancient nations. They de- 
voted themselves to war and agriculture, whilst the 
Grecians paid more attention to architecture and com- 
merce. Attica was a land of cities, towns, villages, 
houses, temples, monuments and statuary. The lands 
of the Romans were divided into very small farms. 
They were well manured, well cultivated, and very 
productive. Their great men, their generals and states- 
men in the days of the Republic, were all farmers. 
Commerce they seemed to spurn as beneath the dignity 
of a Roman gentleman. Composting, and draining 
and irrigating were well understood and practised. 
They wrote a great deal on agriculture, and the works 
of Cato , Varro, Virgil, Colamello, Pliny and others 
have come down to modern times. The Egyptians, 
too, must have been good agriculturists, or they could 
not have supported their very dense population. Greece 
derived from Egypt her knowledge of agriculture, as 
she did almost all of her early civilization. The lands 
of Egypt are said to have produced a hundred fold, 
and were the granary, in time of scarcity, for all the 
neighboring nations. 

But the moderns are far ahead of the ancients in this 
most important of all branches of human industry. 
The improvements and discoveries in science and the 
mechanical arts have given them this superiority. All 
the implements of husbandry have been greatly im- 
proved, and labor-saving machines invented. It is said 
the Greeks left their agriculture in the hands of their 
slaves, and hence it did not flourish. The Romans, in 
the days of their conquest?, pride and luxury, committed 
the same error, and their agriculture began to decline. 
Would it not be well for the Southern people to profit 
by their experience. 



234 LECTURE. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

In architecture the ancients were superior to the 
moderns for the beauty, simplicity and grandeur of 
their public buildings. The Parthenon of Athens and 
the Pantheon of Rome have never been equaled for 
their pure classic taste. For grandeur and massiveness 
the Pyramids of Egypt are still the wonder and ad- 
miration of the world, after an existence of certainly 
more than four or five thousand years. No people ever 
surpassed the Athenians in their taste for architecture. 
There seemed to be something in their climate and soil, 
as well as in their race, which made them beautiful and 
refined, and lovers of beauty in nature and art. Their 
men and women were remarkable for their form, sym- 
metry and spirituality. They were the models of their 
divine statuary. It is not surprising then that such a 
people should have been pre-eminent as architects, 
builders and sculptors. 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

In manners and customs the ancients and moderns 
differed widely in many respects. We think we are 
greatly superior to them in this respect, and no doubt if 
they would rise up and be in existence once more they 
would be horrified at such an expression. There is per- 
haps no correct standard for judging of manners and 
customs, dress and fashions. Every people in their 
early history are characterized by simplicity, plain living, 
rough manners and homely dress. As they advance 
in civilization and wealth their manners become more 
refined, their mode of living more luxurious, and their 
dress more costly. It was so in Greece and Rome, and 
has been the same in England and America. The 
Grecians in the age of Pericles were as different from 
their ancestors in the time of Homer and Hesiod, as the 
English now are from the painted Britons whom Julius 
Caesar conquered. It was well said a few years since at 



LECTURE. 235 

the annual celebration of the New England Society in 
New York, that if their plain ancestors could rise up 
and see the present fashions and luxuries of New Eng- 
land, especially of the ladies, they would disown them 
as their descendants. 

THE LOVE OF DRESS. 

The love of the beautiful and graceful in dress, 
ornament and fashion, amongst the Grecian and Roman 
ladies in the days of their wealth and refinement, was 
not national, but natural to the sex in both ancient and 
modern times. There is no people, however rude and 
savage, amongst whom this feeling may not be discov- 
ered. Even in Africa, where there is no dress at all, the 
girls have their faces, arms and bodies tatooed to make 
them appear beautiful. This passion was well under- 
stood by the great moralist of England when he said, a 
school miss was just as proud of a new calico dress as 
the greatest orator was, after making an eloquent and 
successful speech before an applauding senate. 

But this love of dress is not confined to one sex alone. 
Aristotle, whose genius pervaded all learning and sci- 
ence known to the ancients, and whose system of phil- 
osophy governed the world for fifteen hundred years, 
was a little dandy, always dressed in the extreme of 
fashion and fond of display. William Pinkney, of 
Maryland, one of the greatest lawyers, statesmen and 
orators that America ever produced, was always hand- 
somely dressed and prided himself on his dress. So 
did Charles James Fox in his early life. But greatness 
is generally simple and cares for no ornament. This 
was the case with Socrates, who went barefooted in the 
streets of Athens, and scorned all display. Chief Jus- 
tice Marshall and M. Calhoun, two of the greatest intel- 
lects that ever adorned the bench and senate, were not 
only plain in their dress, but remarkably simple and 
unaffected in their manners. 



236 LECTURE. 

The Athenian ladies were distinguished for their taste 
in dress, as well as their grace, beauty and symmetry of 
form. They had the highest perfection of art, in 
writing the simple and the grand, free of all ostentation. 
This art they possessed even whilst the loom and cards 
and spinning-wheel were a part of their household 
furniture. Dr. Franklin, in writing to his sister in 
Boston, tells her that he had understood that she had 
grown to be a great beauty, and had become a great 
belle, and he was thinking of a suitable present to make 
her, and concluded that he would present her with a 
spinning-wheel and a pair of cards. He no doubt 
thought the beautiful and ornamental might be united 
with the useful in Boston as they had been in Athens. 

FEMALE BEAUTY. 

Claudius iElianus gives us the following description 
of Aspasia, a Grecian lady, who had the reputation of 
being the loveliest woman of her time, and who was 
endowed by nature with a mind still more beautiful than 
her beautiful person. " Her hair was auburn, and fell 
in slightly waving ringlets. She had large full eyes, a 
nose inclined to be aquiline, and small delicate ears. 
Nothing could be softer than her skin, and her com- 
plexion was fresh as a rose, on which account the 
Phocians called her Milto, or the blooming. Her 
ruddy lips opening, disclosed teeth whiter than snow. 
She moreover possessed the charm, on which Homer so 
often dwells in his descriptions of beautiful women, of 
small, well-formed ankles. Her voice was so full of music 
and sweetness, that those to whom she spoke imagined 
they heard the voice of the syrens. To crown all, she 
was like Horace's Pyrrha simplex munditis, abhorring 
superfluous pomp of ornament." I remember having 
seen an Englishman's description of Aaron Burr's 
daughter, the lovely Theodosia, afterwards the wife of 
Governor Joseph Alston, of South Carolina, which 



LECTURE. 237 

equals in beauty this description of the fair Grecian, the 
spouse of Pericles. 

We are told that in Attica the ladies kept up, for 
fourteen hundred years, a sort of Olympian contest for 
beauty. In modern times this contest among the 
ladies and fashionable belles of great cities is no doubt 
daily, instead of happening once in four years. There 
was a custom in Athens, which a portion of the ladies, 
no doubt, thought benevolent, whilst others must have 
regarded it as unjust and absurd. In order to marry 
the homely girls, who were dowerless, the pretty ones, 
as well as the ugly ones, were all put together in 
a spacious room, darkened, and the young men wishing 
to get married were allowed to go in and select their 
wives. Modern young ladies, whether beautiful or not, 
could no doubt rebel against this Grecian custom. 
The young men, too, might possibly object. 

But there is a custom, in modern times, universal 
amongst princes, nobles, and the wealthier classes in 
Europe, and sometimes seen in the United States, which 
is no better than this Grecian custom. Young prin- 
cesses, ladies and heiresses are given in marriage with- 
out being consulted at all. Their chances of happiness 
in married life are just as uncertain as where they are 
taken out of a dark room by chance. In this respect, 
the fortune of the middle and lower classes is much pre- 
ferable. They are allowed to select for themselves. But 
a recent writer, who spent many years in France, says 
that young ladies and gentlemen, even in the middle 
class of society, never associate together until the gen- 
tleman asks for the lady in marriage, and this he very 
often does without ever having seen her. There is lit- 
tle chance of love in such matches ; and Judge Huger 
once said to a lady, in my presence, " No virtuous 
woman will marry a man she don't love." 

EARLIEST CIVILIZATION. 

The earliest civilization we have any correct account 



238 LECTURE. 

of in history is that of the Egyptians. They were, at 
a very remote period, distinguished for their architectu- 
ral grandeur and magnificence. Their pyramids afford 
abundant evidence of their high civilization and great 
mechanical skill and industry. The antiquity of these 
monuments must induce one to doubt the received chro- 
nology of the creation of the world. It is impossible 
that in so short a period after the creation of man, and 
the destruction of the world by the flood, the Egyptians 
would have had the population and skill to erect those 
stupendous structures. Skill and science may have been 
possible, though altogether improbable, but population 
utterly impossible. Nothing erected since by man equals 
them in grandeur and massiveness. How they could 
have been erected is still one of the wonders of civiliza- 
tion. 

The Egyptians were unquestionably of the Caucasian 
race, and very different in features from their neighbors, 
the Africans, who lived in close proximity to them with- 
out imbibing a particle of their civilization and refine- 
ment. It is remarkable that the negro has remained in 
a savage state for thousands of years, whilst the highest 
civilization was so near them. This would seem to war- 
rant the conclusion that nature intended him for a sav- 
age or slave. The intelligence of the African race, in 
America, is entirely owing to slavery ; and, but for 
their intimate association with a superior race, they 
would again relapse into barbarism, although in a state 
of freedom. 

Grecian civilization does not date back as far as that 
of the Egyptians ; in fact, there is little doubt that they 
did receive their early civilization from Egypt; but 
they afterwards immeasurably surpassed the Egyptians 
and all cotemporary nations in the arts and sciences, as 
well as in literature and philosophy. They were full 
of genius and invention. None equaled them in poe- 
try, music, sculpture and belles lettres. They perfected 
their language, and it has never since been equaled in 



LECTURE. 239 

beauty, harmony and expression. In taste and refine- 
ment they were far superior to their Roman conquerors. 
The Chinese trace their history back many thousands 
of years beyond the Jewish account of the creation of 
the world, but there is very little reliance to be placed 
on their chronology. They were, however, a compara- 
tively civilized people at a very early period in the 
world's history. The mariner's compass, gunpowder, 
writing paper, printing, and the manufacture of porce- 
lain, were known to them for ages before they were 
known in Europe. The Chinese were also a literary 
people, and at this time there is, perhaps, no people in 
the world so universally educated. All aspirants for 
public honors and office must be literary men. Their 
religion is doubtful. The Emperor is nominally a Budd- 
hist, and they worship their ancestors. The writings 
of Confucius, who lived four or five hundred years 
before Christ, have the same consideration in China that 
the Bible has in all Christian countries. 

THE GREAT LAW OF NATURE. 

In passing over the history of ancient nations, we 
are painfully reminded of the great law of nature, that 
all things have an end. We are born, live and die. 
This is the law of the vegetable as well as of the animal 
kingdom. It is likewise the law of kingdoms, empires 
and republics. They rise, flourish and pass away. Other 
States, powers and principalities spring up in their stead, 
and in a brief period are gone. How short was the 
existence of the republics of Greece, Rome and Car- 
thage ! The mighty empires of Babylon, Persia, Assy- 
ria and Egypt were soon conquered and overturned by 
other nations. We see in history how civilization itself 
sprung up, flourished, and perished in the dark ages. 
Again we are living in another experiment of civiliza- 
tion. The world has made rapid strides during the last 
five hundred years in learning, philosophy, and all the 
arts and sciences. Great improvements, too, have 



240 LECTURE. 

taken place in all the modern governments compared to 
those of antiquity. Despotisms are less despotic, king- 
doms less arbitrary and oppressive, and republics more 
wise and free. The American cluster of republics, when 
first established, was a great improvement on those of 
Greece and Rome. It was a representative republic, 
blending the strength of monarchy with the wisdom of 
an aristocracy and the virtue of democracy. Instead 
of the people assembling en masse to make laws, as 
they did in Greece and Rome, they choose representatives 
for their wisdom and virtue to legislate for them, and 
hold them responsible for their legislation. But in 
order to maintain a republic there must be virtue and 
intelligence in the people. A republic cannot exist long 
where the people, the source of all power and honor, are 
ignorant and corrupt. The downfall of the republics 
of antiquity was owing to the corruption of the people, 
and the wealth, luxury and idleness of the higher 
classes. 

It is to be greatly apprehended that our cluster of 
republics may go in the same way. The new element of 
universal African suffrage, thrown into our State govern- 
ments by the unwise and unconstitutional legislation of 
Congress will speedily end our Southern institutions 
unless some measure is taken to control this black 
power. This negro element is a total perversion of the 
object of the American republic. It was intended to 
be a white man's government and nothing else. What 
would its framers have thought? What would they 
have said ? What would they have done if they could 
have foreseen the government of six or seven States fall- 
ing under the absolute control of their slaves? Would- 
they not have said it was better to remain British Pro- 
vinces than become Sovereign States ? 

DEMORALIZATION OF SOCIETY. 

There has been, too, a terrible demoralization of so- 
ciety in the United States since our unfortunate civil 



LECTURE. 241 

war, which has a strong tendency to undermine our 
republican institutions. Official frauds, defalcations and 
legislative roguery are every day occurrences. The 
worst men in the community are being elected and 
appointed to all offices. There was a time in South 
Carolina when a stain or imputation on a man's charac- 
ter not only excluded him from office, but from all 
society of gentlemen. But now if a man cheats, lies 
and steals, and by his roguery acquires fortune or official 
position, he becomes the associate of gentlemen, and his 
crimes are unpunished and unnoticed. He may betray 
his principles, his race and his country, and still main- 
tain his position in society. 

FAREWELL. 

But, gentlemen, I will not further remind you of our 
misfortunes and the misfortunes of our common coun- 
try, which we have all experienced to our hearts' sor- 
row. Thanking you for your polite attention and kind- 
ness I bid you farewell, hoping that a brighter day is 
dawning in the South, and that we may all live to see 
South Carolina restored to her ancient fame, honor and 
prosperity. But in parting with you to-night, perhaps 
never to meet again, I cannot refrain from saying that 
I shall carry with me to my mountain home a grateful 
remembrance of your kindness and hospitality, and a 
high appreciation of your sociability, literary tastes and 
culture. Your ancient and beautiful little town, too, 
with its magnificent groves of trees, neat houses and 
handsome shrubbery, has made a deep and lasting im- 
pression on my heart and memory. 

Farewell. 



SKETCHES 

OF 

Eminent American Statesmen. 



JAMES OTIS. 

This great statesman and most eloquent of men, was 
the prime mover of the American Revolution. He 
sowed the seeds of rebellion, liberty and independence 
in 1761, which ripened into American Independence in 
1776. King George the Third had just ascended the 
throne of Great Britain and ordered " Writs of As- 
sistance" to issue in Massachusetts to search for 
property on which taxes had not been paid. The 
merchants of Boston employed Mr. Otis to resist in 
court the issuing of these writs. This was two years 
before Patrick Henry's great speech on the celebrated 
" Parsons case " in Virginia, and five years before his 
burst of eloquence in the House of Burgesses in which 
he said, with the voice of thunder and the look of a 
God, " Csesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his 
Cromwell, and George the Third " — " treason!" cried the 

These Sketches of Eminent Statesmen were written 
by Governor Perry, between the years 1865 and 1876, soon 
after the war, when South Carolina was under carpet-bag 
and negro rule, before the State was redeemed, regenerated, 
and disenthralled, througli the efforts and influence of Gen- 
eral Hampton. 

243 



244 JAMES OTIS. 

speaker, " treason ! treason ! " echoed from every part of 
the House. Henry faltered not for an instant, but 
rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the speaker an 
eye of the most determined fire, finished his sentence 
with the firmest emphasis — " 3 fay profit by their example. 
If this be treason make the most of it ! " 

Old John Adams, afterwards President of the 
United States, then a very young man, was present in 
court and heard Otis's argument against " Writs of As- 
sistance." He gives the following graphic account of 
it, and the impression it produced on the court and 
spectators: "Otis was a flame of fire. With a promp- 
titude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid 
summary of historical events and dates, a profusion 
of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into 
futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, he 
hurried away all before him. American Independence 
was then and there born. The seeds of patriots and 
heroes to defend the ' Non sine dies animosus infans,' 
(motto of the Alliance Medal struck in Paris to com- 
memorate the alliance between France and America,) 
were then and there sown. Every man of an im- 
mense crowded audience, appeared to me go away as I did, 
ready to take up arms against ' Writs of Assistance.' 
Then and there was the first scene of the first act of 
opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. 
Then and there the child ' Independence ' was born. 
In fifteen years, in 1776, he grew up to manhood and 
declared himself free." 

The court decided that they could see no foundation 
for " Writs of Assistance" and the practice was not 
known in England. This was before the stamp act 
and the duty on teas. It was the first blow given to 
the arbitrary power of Great Britain in her American 
Colonies. 

In genius, eloquence, learning and towering intel- 
lect, Mr. Otis had no equal in his day and time. His 
family were the first settlers in Massachusetts, and he 



JAMES OTIS. 245 

was fifth in descent from John Otis who came from 
England. 

He was born in 172o, and graduated at Harvard 
College. His natural ardor and vivacity for the first 
two years of his college life made his society much 
courted by the older students. But he changed his 
course in the junior year and then gave indication of 
great talents and powers of application. So devoted 
was he to his books on his return home that his 
neighbors did not see him for weeks. He had great 
wit and humor and some talent for music. On one 
occasion- he was playing the violin for a company of 
young people at his father's house and suddenly stopped, 
holding up his fiddle and bow, said, "So -Orpheus 
fiddled and so danced the brutes," threw them aside 
and rushed into the garden followed by all of the 
revellers. 

At the Bar, in the Legislature, and before popular as- 
semblies, he was the foremost man of all New England, 
and stood head and shoulders taller intellectually, than 
Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Josiah Quincy and John 
Adams. He was a writer of great power and ability. 
In 1762 he published the " Vindication of the House of 
Representatives of Massachusetts Bay," a work in which 
many volumes are concentrated. In speaking of this 
work, John Adams says, " Look over the Declaration of 
Rights and Wrongs issued by Congress in 1774. Look 
into the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Look 
into the wordings of Dr. Price and Dr. Priestly. Look 
into all the French Constitutions of government. And 
to cap the climax, look into Mr. Thomas Paine's Com- 
mon Sense, Crisis and Rights of Man ; and what can 
you find that is not to be found in solid substance in 
this " Vindication of the House of Representatives?" 

This noble patriot and heroic man, though he lived to 
see American Independence, was not able to enjoy it. 
He had a controversy with one of the officers of the 
British Government in 1769. His refutation of some 



246 JAMES OTIS. 

strictures on his conduct was so severe that the officer 
brutally assaulted him, and in consequence of the blows 
received, his godlike intellect was dethroned ! He 
lived till May 20th, 1783, when he was struck by a flash 
of lightning and fell dead to the earth. A few weeks 
before his death, he said to his sister in one of his lucid 
intervals, " I hope when God Almighty in his righteous 
providence shall take me out of time into eternity, that 
it will be by a flash of lightning." Strange to say, his 
wish was gratified. 

Had Mr. Otis retained his extraordinary faculties 
from 1769 to 1783, he would have been the most promi- 
nent man of the American Revolution in Congress. It 
is sad to think of his loss, to the cause so dear to his 
heart, and particularly distressing to reflect how it oc- 
curred. That a man possessed of all the noblest quali- 
ties of the heart, and the highest powers of intellect, 
with great learning and culture, should be stricken down 
by the ruffian of a tyrant and made forever imbecile is 
indeed horrible. When a very young man, I remember 
having read the life of James Otis, by William Tudor, 
and how deeply and painfully I was impressed by it. 
In 1859, I saw in Mount Auburn Cemetery, near 
Boston, the magnificent statue of this illustrious patriot, 
and I thought that I had never before seen such a god- 
like representation of mortal man. His form and fea- 
tures were perfect in manly beauty. There seemed to 
be a heavenly spirituality in his countenance. No statue 
of Grecian or Roman gods by the most celebrated 
sculptors of antiquity, could have surpassed it in my 
estimation. I understood it was executed by the son of 
Judge Story of the Supreme Bench of the United States. 
There is a likeness of Mr. Otis in the frontispiece of 
ii American Eloquence, " published by Frank Moore in 
1854. This great work contains sketches of upwards of 
sixty of the most eminent American statesmen and 
orators, with selections from their speeches and orations, 
and should be in the library of every gentleman. The 



JAMES OTIS. 247 

likeness of Otis is not equal to his statue by Story, but 
it represents a noble head and face. I am indebted to 
this compilation and its biographical sketch of James 
Otis for much that I have said in this article of the 
prime mover of the American Revolution. 



JOHN ADAMS. 

This distinguished statesman, patriot and orator, was 
the bold, uncompromising champion of American Inde- 
pendence, and afterwards the successor of Washington 
in the Presidency of the United States. He was born at 
Braintree in Massachusetts, November 19th, 1735. His 
father was an humble farmer, in limited circumstances, 
and much respected for his piety, integrity and industry. 
John worked on the farm of his father, and went to 
school till he was nineteen years old. He then entered 
Harvard College, and in due course graduated a finished 
scholar. For some time after his graduation he taught 
school, and gives an amusing account of his throne and 
obsequious subjects as a pedagogue. He intended at 
one time to enter the ministry, but he thought his re- 
ligious opinions were rather wavering for a preacher, 
and he read law. In 1764 he married Abigail Smith, 
a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Smith, who, by the by, was 
a relative of the ancestor of the Rhetts of South Caro- 
lina, whose original name was Smith. It is said the 
parents of his wife were unwilling to the marriage of 
their daughter with one so poor and humble in his ori- 
gin as was Mr. Adams. Little did they then suppose 
that Miss Abigail was about to marry the future Presi- 
dent of the Great Republic of North America. It 
seems the daughter had a better appreciation of the 
character and talents and virtues of the young lawyer 
than her parents. Abigail Smith was, indeed, a young 
lady of remarkable intellectual qualities and moral 
worth. She was the intimate friend and correspondent 
of Jefferson for many years. It was suspected, too, 
that she controlled her husband in some of his measures 
248 



JOHN ADAMS 249 

whilst he was President of the United States. She was 
a proud, noble woman, and when Jefferson dismissed 
from office her son, she broke with him, and never 
could be reconciled. Her husband and Mr. Jefferson 
renewed their early friendship in the latter part of 
their lives ; but she positively refused to accept the prof- 
fered renewal of friendship on the part of Mr. Jefferson. 

In 1770, Mr. Adams, although a flaming patriot, un- 
dertook the defence of Captain Preston and the British 
soldiers who had killed several of the citizens of Boston 
in a rencounter on the streets. He was associated in 
this most unpopular defence with his wife's relative, 
Josiah Quincy. His high sense of professional duty 
would not permit him to decline the defence of those 
who were charged with murder, on account of popular 
clamor. The speech of Mr. Adams on this occasion is 
given in Frank Moore's great work entitled " American 
Eloquence," and I have never read a more complete 
legal argument, or one of greater learning and eloquence 
on the criminal side of the Court. If a young lawyer 
should be at a loss in a case of murder, by turning to 
this argument he will find law, logic and eloquence 
already provided for him. His patriotism did not pre- 
vent his seeing justice done even to those who came to 
Massachusetts to suppress the spirit of liberty. His 
friends and his father were indignant when they heard 
he had consented to defend the British murderers. His 
father wrote him a severe letter, expressing great sur- 
prise and regret at his conduct. But Mr. Adams was a 
bold, fearless young barrister, and nothing could deter 
him from doing what he thought was right and honorable. 

It is said of Mr. Adams that he never regarded the 
opinion of others when in conflict with his own. He 
never supposed himself to be in the wrong. The rest 
of mankind might err, but he never did ! In this re- 
spect he was the opposite of Washington, who always- 
regarded most respectfully the opinions of those who 
differed with him. Mr. Adams was not only self-willed 



250 JOHN ADAMS. 

and stubborn, but he was passionate and impulsive. He 
was very ambitious, and, like all ambitious men, selfish. 
In his diary and journal, published by his grandson, 
Charles Francis Adams, with his other works, in ten 
volumes, he seldom speaks well of his cotemporaries 
and associates. -He generally thought they received too 
much public consideration, and himself too little. This 
was especially his feeling towards Dr. Franklin, in 
Paris. In this respect he was very much like his son, 
John Quincy Adams, as he appears in his journal lately 
published by his son. John Quincy always had some 
complaint against his compeers, and was ever recording 
bitter sayings against them. 

I once saw, in Harvard College, a very admirable 
likeness, full length, of John Adams. He was stout and 
short, well built, and showed great muscular power. He 
had a fine large head and full face. There was a great 
deal of the animal passions to be seen in his appearance. 
When excited he was almost a madman, and expressed 
himself with great vehemence. But with all his faults, 
he was a sterling patriot, and an honest, honorable man. 
Jefferson, his great rival, says he was as honest as the 
God who made him ! His federalism, and the alien and 
sedition laws passed by Congress during his administra- 
tion made him for a while very unpopular. There is no 
doubt he was wanting in judgment and discretion. 

Samuel Adams, the glorious old patriot and States 
rights man of Massachusetts, was a distant relation of 
John Adams, and a descendant of a more distinguished 
branch of the family. He and John Hancock, who was 
for many years Governor of Massachusetts, and Presi- 
dent of the Continental Congress, were on most intimate 
terms throughout their lives. There is a tradition that 
on some occasion Hancock said to Adams, " You know, 
sir, that I have furnished yon with bread for a number 
of years." " Yes," said Adams, " and I have furnished 
you with brains for the same length of time." 

The Adams familv have been remarkable for their 



JOHN ADAMS. 251 

talents and distinction. John Adams, the subject of 
this sketch, was distinguished alike for his learning, 
ability and eloquence as a statesman, orator and writer. 
He was the bold champion of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, one of the Commissioners who signed the 
treaty by which that Declaration was admitted by 
Great Britain, the first Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
Court of St. James, Vice-President of the United States, 
and President. His son, John Quincy Adams, was 
eminent for his learning and talents. He was Minister 
to several foreign courts, United States Senator, Secre- 
tary of State, and President of the United States. 
Charles Francis Adams, the son of John Quincy, and 
grandson of old John Adams, has been a member of 
Congress, Minister to Great Britain, and spoken of for 
President. He is a gentleman of high character and 
great learning and talents. His son, John Quincy 
Adams, Jr., the great grandson of John Adams, has 
been the Democratic candidate for Governor of Massa- 
chusetts for a number of years, and was once run as a 
candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the United States. 
He was invited by the prominent Democrats of South 
Carolina some years since to come here and address the 
people of Columbia and Charleston. I had the pleasure 
of his acquaintance in Columbia, and formed a very 
high estimate of his talents and ability. His speeches, 
as published, were the production of no ordinary mind. 
His brother, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., is likewise a 
prominent speaker and writer in Massachusetts, though 
a very young man. 

Here we have four generations of great men in the 
same family. There are very few similar instances in 
all history. Indeed, it is seldom that a great man has 
a great son; especially so in the United States. The 
sons of Calhoun, Lowndes, Clay, Webster and Cheves, 
were all very ordinary young men. How is this to be 
accounted for? Was it owing to their mothers? It is 
said that all great men have had great mothers, and 



252 JOHN ADAMS. 

history warrants the saying. Such was the case with 
Lord Bacon, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, 
and hundreds of others who might be mentioned. The 
mother of old John Adams was a Miss Boylston, and by 
nature no doubt a great woman. His father was not remark- 
able for talents. The mother of John Quincy Adams, 
as I have already stated, was remarkable for her talents 
and vigor of mind. His wife, the mother of Charles 
Francis Adams, was a Miss Johnson, of Maryland, 
though born and educated in England, and said to have 
been clever. I once saw the wife of Charles Francis 
Adams, the mother of John Quincy Adams, Jr., and 
was struck with her fine intellectual appearance. 

There is a fact mentioned by Thomas Addis Emmett, 
in his defence of William S. Smitn, connected with the 
Adams family, which I never knew before. William S. 
Smith was indicted in the United States court for New 
York as a confederate of General Meranda in his 
attempted invasion of the Spanish Provinces of South 
America. Mr. Emmett stated to the court that the act 
of Congress under which Smith was indicted was passed 
whilst John Adams was Vice-President of the United 
States, and that Smith was a son-in-law of Adams. 
He also stated that the act of Congress was leveled at 
Genet, the French Minister in 1793, and that His 
Honor, the Presiding Judge, a son of De Witt Clinton, 
was the brother-in-law of Genet. John Smith, United 
States Senator from Ohio, was expelled from the Senate 
for his complicity with Col. Burr's conspiracy, and John 
Quincy Adams, who was then in the United States 
Senate, made a speech against him. These two Smiths 
were confounded in my mind, and I thought it very 
strange that John Quincy Adams should have made a 
speech for the expulsion of his brother-in-law from the 
Senate of the United States. 

Old John Adams, after being defeated by Jefferson 
for re-election to the Presidency in 1799, retired to 
private life. The Governorship of Massachusetts was 



JOHN ADAMS. 253 

tendered him, which he declined on account of his age 
and wished to spend the remainder of his days at home 
in his family. When the convention of Massachusetts 
assembled to revise their constitution, he was elected a 
member of it, and was the presiding officer of the con- 
vention. He died on the 4th of July, 1826, and his 
last words were : "It is a great day. " Thomas Jefferson 
died on the same day. On hearing this news at Green- 
ville, S. C, a gentleman remarked: "Co-incident in 
death; co-eternal in fame." 



.JOHN RUTLEDGE. 

This illustrious son of Carolina, pre-eminently dis- 
tinguished for his eloquence, ability, statesmanship 
and patriotism, was born in Charleston in 1739. His- 
father, Dr. John Rutledge, and his brother, Andrew, 
came to South Carolina in 1735, from Ireland. Andrew 
was a lawyer. About the same time a wine merchant 
by the name of Hext, emigrated from England and settled 
in Charleston. He died soon afterwards, and Andrew 
Rutledge married his widow, and John married his 
youngest daughter, who gave birth to Chief Justice 
Rutledge in her fifteenth year. She afterwards gave 
birth to Edward Rutledge, signer of the Declaration of 
Independence and Governor of South Carolina, and 
also Hugh Rutledge, who was one of the Chancellors 
of the State. There were four sisters of Mrs. Rutledge,. 
and one of them married John McCall, another married 
Prioleau, a third married Dart, and the fourth, Mr. 
Roper. Mrs. Rutledge was a woman of great energy 
and more than ordinary endowments. She was left a 
widow at an early age, and had the entire education of 
her children. Possessing an ample fortune in her own 
right, she sent her sons to England to finish their 
education. 

John Rutledge, after completing his college studies, 
determined to read law, and was entered a student of 
the Temple in London, and in due course of time was 
licensed as a barrister. He returned home in 1761, 
and commenced his brilliant professional career. The 
first case in which he was employed was for a breach 
of a marriage promise. His debut at the Bar astonished 
and electrified the court and jury. At one bound he 
254 



JOHN RUTLEDGE. 255' 

placed himself at the head of his profession by the 
learning, eloquence and ability he displayed in his first 
speech. Business overwhelmed him, and he had one 
side or the other of almost every case in court. He 
showed himself to be a profound lawyer, as the most, 
eloquent of advocates. 

In 1764 Governor Boone refused to qualify Christo- 
pher Gadsden, who was the prime mover of the 
rebellion in South Carolina, as a member of the Legis- 
lature. This excited all the indignation and patriotism 
of the young barrister, and he gave vent to it in bursts 
of thrilling eloquence. From that day it may be said 
he was for American Independence. Massachusetts 
sent an invitation to all the Colonies to meet in Conven- 
tion in 1765, and consult as to the best means of defend- 
ing their colonial rights and liberty. John Rutledge, 
then only twenty-five years old, was appointed a dele- 
gate to this convention, with Christopher Gadsden and 
Thomas Lynch, from South Carolina. All the Colonics 
sent delegates to this Congress except Virginia, North 
Carolina, Georgia and New Hampshire. It is said that 
"the brilliancy of his genius, the boldness of his ideas, 
the extent and variety of his information, and the 
beauty and power of his diction, all together made a 
deep impression upon the body of which he was a 
member." 

From 1765 to 1774 he was devoted to his profession. 
Then came the troubles of Massachusetts, and Rutledge, 
who was a member of the South Carolina convention, 
proposed that delegates should be sent to a Congress 
of all the Colonies. Some one wished to limit the powers 
of the delegates, which Rutledge vehemently opposed. 
When asked what shall be done with the delegates if 
they betray their constituents, Rutledge turned upon 
him with passionate gesture and flashing eyes, and 
exclaimed: " Hang them, sir ! — hang them!" He was 
again appointed a del* gate to this Congress, with Chris- 
topher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, Henry Middleton and 



256 JOHN RUTLEDGE. 

Edward Rutledge. This Congress was composed of 
the greatest men of all the Colonies. George Washing- 
ton, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, 
Judge Chase, Chief Justice Jay, Samuel Adams, Roger 
Sherman, Livingston, etc., etc. Patrick Henry was 
asked on his return home whom he thought the greatest 
man in that Congress. He replied, "If you speak of 
eloquence, John Rutledge of South Carolina is the great- 
est orator, but if you- speak of information and sound 
judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the 
greatest man on the floor." 

John Rutledge and John Adams were the business 
men of this first Congress. Rutledge was not a mere 
orator like Patrick Henry, but a man of profound 
understanding, great learning, and great statesmanship. 
On his return home he was elected Governor of South 
Carolina, and therefore his name was not signed to the 
Declaration of Independence. When Sir Henry Clinton 
made his attack on Charleston in June, 1776, General 
Charles Lee was sent there to take command of the 
forces. He advised Colonel Moultrie to abandon his 
Fort on Sullivan's Island, as it was nothing but a slaugh- 
ter pen. Governor Rutledge immediately wrote Colonel 
Moultrie not to give up the fort, unless on an order 
written by him, and he "would cutoff his right hand 
sooner than write such an order!" 

Just before the fall of Charleston, Rutledge was clothed 
by the Legislature with dictatorial powers, and he exer- 
cised them with great prudence, ability and energy for 
several years. When it was proposed in the Virginia 
Legislature to make Patrick Henry Dictator, several 
members declared he should not live twenty-four hours 
after accepting the Dictatorship! The people of South 
Carolina were not so terrified at the appointment of a 
Dictator, when that Dictator was to be John Rutledge, 
whose wisdom and patriotism, sense of justice and won- 
derful sagacity had been so thoroughly tested. 

Towards the close of the Revolutionary war, Governor 



JOHN KUTLEDGE. 257 

Rutledge, after consulting General Marion as to its 
propriety, issued his proclamation offering a free and 
full pardon to all tories who would volunteer and serve 
in the army six months. A great many came forward 
and accepted the terms offered. I am sure that I drew 
a good many pensions for Kevolutionary soldiers of this 
class immediately after the passage of the Pension Act 
by Congress. They all proved six months' services very 
satisfactory, but could give me no satisfactory account of 
their whereabouts previous to their volunteering. I 
will not attempt to recount the services of Governor 
Rutledge after the fall of Charleston. Fortunately for 
the State, he was not in the city of Charleston when it 
surrendered. His efforts to redeem the State by appeals 
to Congress, and to the Legislatures of Virginia and 
North Carolina, and to the people of South Carolina, 
were energetic and untiring. Gates's defeat was a terri- 
ble blow to him, and when Greene came to take com- 
mand of the Southern army his spirits revived, for his 
intuitive knowledge of mankind satisfied him that the 
Rhode Island blacksmith was a great General. And 
Greene wrote after meeting Governor Rutledge, that he 
was the greatest man he had ever met. 

Like all brave and patriotic men, Governor Rutledge 
was generous, noble hearted and forgiving. He advised 
that the property of the loyalists should not be confis- 
cated, nor they themselves exiled from their country. 
Like all truly great men, he was at times passionate and 
impulsive, but forgiving. It is said, in the latter part 
of nis life he was proud and austere. Well may such a 
man have been proud of his glorious career. At the 
close of the war he was elected Chancellor of the State 
and received the vote of South Carolina as Vice-Presi- 
dent when Washington was first declared President. 
When the Federal Judiciary was organized, Washington 
appointed him one of the Supreme Judges. He was 
then elected Chief Justice of South Carolina, and, in 
1795, was appointed by Washington Chief Justice of 



258 JOHN EUTLEDGE. 

the United States. He went on to Philadelphia, and 
presided at one term of the court as Chief Justice. He 
was on his way to hold the Federal Court in North 
Carolina, when his great intellect was dethroned, and he 
attempted to drown himself near Society Hill, and was 
pulled out of the river by some negroes. He lived five 
years afterwards, but his life was a blank from that time. 

In consequence of his opposition to the ratification of 
Jay's Treaty, the Senate of the United States refused to 
confirm his appointment as Chief Justice. Washington 
knew of his opposition to this great Federal measure 
before he made the appointment. But he knew the hon- 
esty of his heart, his great learning, his great abilities, 
and his sterling patriotism. The Senate, however, disre- 
garded all these great qualities, when united in one 
opposed to their party. 

Dr. Ramsay says, in his history of South Carolina : 
" While Massachusetts boasts of her John Adams, Con- 
necticut of her Ellsworth, New York of her Jay, Penn- 
sylvania of her Wilson, Delaware of her Bayard, Vir- 
ginia of her Henry — South Carolina rests her claims on 
the talents and eloquence of John Rutledge." 

The wife of Chief Justice Rutledge was a MissGrimke, 
probably the sister of Judge Grimke, who belonged to a 
Huguenot family which migrated to South Carolina after 
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. General John 
Rutledge, United States Senator from South Carolina, 
was the son of Chief Justice Rutledge. His other chil- 
dren I am not able to mention. When the lives of the 
Chief Justices of the United States was undertaken by 
George Von Santvoored, of New York, in 1854, he com- 
plained to Senator Butler, of South Carolina, that he 
could get little or no information about Chief Justice 
Rutledge. His letters, manuscripts and papers of every 
description were lost or destroyed. His descendants had 
very meagre information relative to their great ancestor. 



CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. 

It is to be regretted that no one has undertaken to 
write the life of this eminent statesman, hero and patriot. 
There are few illustrious men in all history who possessed 
more of the old Roman in their composition than Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. His grand- 
father, Thomas Pinckney, emigrated from England to 
South Carolina in 1687, only a few years after the first 
settlement of the colony. He married Mary Cotesworth, 
and was a gentleman of independent fortune. His son 
Charles was Chief Justice of the colony, and married 
Miss Eliza Lucas, daughter of Col. George Lucas, Gov- 
ernor of the island of Antigua. She was the mother of 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and had the honor of intro- 
ducing the culture of indigo in South Carolina. Her 
father owned a plantation at Wappoo, and sent her trop- 
ical seeds and fruits to be planted. This was before her 
marriage to Chief Justice Pinckney. Amongst others 
he sent her some indigo seed, and a man by the name of 
Cromwell to show her the process of extracting the dye 
from the weed. 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was born in Charleston, 
February 25, 1746, and was taken by his father to Eng- 
land when seven years old to be educated. His younger 
brother, General Thomas Pinckney, was likewise taken 
there to be educated. He graduated at Oxford at an 
early age and then read law in the Middle Temple. He 
passed over to France and spent a year or two in the Royal 
Military Academy at Csen. He returned to Charleston in 
1769 and commenced the practice of his profession. But 
the troubles between Great Britain and her colonies soon 
absorbed all of the young barrister's thoughts and time. 
259 



260 CHARLES COTESWOETH PINCKNEY. 

He was elected a member of the Provincial Congress of 
South Carolina in 1775, and was appointed a captain in 
the army by Governor Rutledge. Although he had left 
his native country when a child, and was brought up in 
Eno-land, his love and affection were for the land of his 
birth. His love and devotion to liberty were still stronger, 
and no one ever more courageously worshiped honor 
throughout life than he did. He was engaged in the 
capture of Fort Johnson and the defence of Fort 
Moultrie. He then went North, and was aide-de-camp 
to General Washington in the battles of Brandywine 
and Germantown. The South being again invaded, he 
returned, and participated in the unsuccessful expedition 
to Florida. He assisted in the defence of Charleston 
when attacked by Prevost. He fought with great gal- 
lantry in the attack on Savannah. He was in command 
of Fort Moultrie when Charleston surrendered. He 
opposed to the last the surrender of the city. It was not 
in his proud, stubborn nature to yield to policy. He 
remained a prisoner of war till peace was ratified. He 
resumed his practice at the bar, and was most successful 
as a lawyer. His learning, ability and high character 
placed him by the side of John tiutledge. 

He was a member of the convention of 1788, which 
framed the Constitution of the United States, and also 
a member of the State convention which adopted the 
Constitution. He was its strong advocate in opposition 
to Raulin Lowndes, who wished it placed on his tomb- 
stone that he had opposed the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. General Washington wrote 
a letter addressed jointly to him and Edward Rutledge, 
tendering to one of them to be decided by them the 
position of a seat on the supreme bench of the United 
States, and they joined in a letter to the President both 
declining the appointment. I expect there is no other 
instance on record of a high judicial appointment being 
tendered in the same letter to two lawyers and leaving 
it with them to say which should accept the position. 



CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. 261 

General Pinckney also declined a seat in Washington's 
cabinet as Secretary of War. Whilst in Washington's 
military family he must have made a most favorable 
impression on the commander-in-chief of the Continen- 
tal army. 

In 1796 he accepted the appointment of Minister to 
France, and was received very coldly by "the Secretary " 
then in power, and finally ordered to leave France. He 
was afterwards sent back to France with Chief Justice 
Marshal and Eldridge Gerry as Ministers Plenipoten- 
tiary. They were given to understand by Talleyrand 
that nothing could be accomplished without a bribe in 
money. It was on this occasion that it is said General 
Pinckney used the famous expression, "Millions for 
defence but not a cent for tribute." The expression was 
worthy of the patriot and hero, and has become histori- 
cal. But unfortunately, General Pinckney says the ex- 
pression was never used by him. Governor Middleton, 
who was the nephew of General Pinckney and his pri- 
vate secretary in Paris, told me, many years ago, that a 
lady was sent by Talleyrand to sound the General on 
the subject of the American Minister's making a large 
present in money to the French Government. She was 
promptly and distinctly informed that no such present 
would be made, even if war was the consequence of their 
refusal. Talleyrand afterwards denied that he had 
authorized this lady to make any such proposition. 
There was not a particle of doubt, however, that he had 
done so. At the time this famous expression was said 
to have been used, pounds, shillings and pence were the 
money currency and not dollars and cents. The ex- 
pression was so much in character with General Pinck- 
ney that it was universally believed until he contra- 
dicted it at a public dinner. It was not consistent with 
his high sense of honor to permit a most flattering, 
patriotic expression to be attributed to him which he 
did not use, although it expressed his feelings and senti- 
ments. As Judge Butler once said, " if it is not true, it 
ought to be." 



262 CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. 

Judge Huger told me the following amusing incident 
characteristic of General Pinckney whilst in Paris. He 
requested the waiter at the hotel, the first night after his 
arrival, to show him his bedchamber. When he opened 
the door and looked around, he said, "Where is Mrs. 
Pinckney ? ; ' "Oh," said the waiter, "her bedchamber 
is in another direction." " Well," said the General, to 
the utter amazement of the valet, "one room answers for 
both of us." This was looked upon as a decided Ameri- 
can vulgarity. The polite fashionables of Paris were 
amazed at the American Minister and his wife occupying 
the same bedchamber. The story was not believed. It 
was incredible. 

In 1800 John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney were the Federal candidates for President and Vice- 
President of the United States. Thomas Jefferson and 
Aaron Burr were the Republican candidates. South 
Carolina was strongly Republican, and it was proposed 
to General Pinckney for the Legislature to cast the vote 
of the State for Jefferson and himself. He indignantly 
refused any such arrangement, and said the State must 
vote for Adams or not for him. He would not think 
of receiving the vote of his own State, unless it was 
given to the candidate with whom he was running. Such 
was the exquisite sense of honor on the part of this old 
hero, patriot and statesman. If he had consented to re- 
ceive the vote of South Carolina, he would have been 
elected Vice-President instead of Aaron Burr. This in- 
formation I received from Chancellor De Sausure, who 
was one of the actors on the scene. Where is the poli- 
tician or statesman of the present day who would have 
refused the vote of his State for the Presidency under 
these circumstances ? He was justly the idol of Caro- 
lina, though differing from Carolina in politics. She 
wished to honor her illustrious son, but was unwilling 
to honor with him the author of the Alien and Sedition 
Laws. His brother, General Thomas Pinckney, was 
twice run by the Federal party for the Presidency. The 
leading men of South Carolina of that day were all Fed- 



CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. 263 

eralists. They belonged to the school of Washington, and 
were in favor of a strong Federal government. They were 
opposed to Mr. Jefferson's democracy, which by nullifi- 
cation and secession, would have made the Federal 
Union a rope of sand. Had they lived at the present 
day, they would have opposed with equal energy the 
consolidating doctrines of President Grant and the 
Republican party. They adhered to the constitution as 
it was, and acknowledged all the sovereign rights of the 
States not yielded in the Federal Constitution. They 
never would have tolerated military usurpation or the 
interference on the part of the Federal authorities with 
the government of the States. 

General Pinkney and William Pinckney, of Mary- 
land, the most accomplished lawyer, orator and states- 
man that America has perhaps ever produced, were 
descended from the same family in Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land, although they spelled their family names differ- 
ently. This information is given by William Pinckney, 
after spending several years in England and tracing up 
the origin of his family. Charles Pinckney, who was 
four times elected Governor of the State of South Caro- 
lina and was sent as Minister to Spain, was a second 
cousin of General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and 
the grandson of William Pinckney, his uncle. 

If I am not mistaken, General C. C. Pinckney mar- 
ried a Miss Middleton and had three daughters but no 
son. Two of his daughters died unmarried, and the 
third married Mr. Izard, but left no issue. Therefore 
this great man has no descendants now living. His 
brother, General Thomas Pinckney, has a great many 
living descendants. 

I have a picture of General C. C. Pinckney which 
represents him stout and muscular, with a full face and 
large head, grave, solemn and dignified in his appear- 
ance. He was a great reader and book worm. His 
hospitality was princely, and his charity unbounded. 
He died in 1825, in his eightieth year. 



CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 

The life and character of this eminent patriot, hero, 
and statesman, have been greatly neglected in South 
Carolina. No one lias written a memoir of his Revolu- 
tionary services. In the "National Portrait Gallery" 
there are more than one hundred and fifty biographical 
sketches with likenesses of distinguished American 
patriots, heroes, orators and statesmen, but none of 
Christopher Gadsden. John Rutledge, Edward Rut- 
ledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Thomas Pinckney r 
Henry Laurens, Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, 
Andrew Pickens, Hayne, and other eminent Carolinians 
are admirably sketched with the great men of other 
states in this beautiful national work, but nothing is 
said of General Christopher Gadsden. Again, in the 
great work entitled "American Eloquence," there are 
more than sixty illustrious lives sketched, and many of 
them South Carolinians, and yet Christopher Gadsden is 
omitted. It is true that history has been more just to 
his bold and fearless patriotism. Bancroft in his most 
minute and accurate history of the United States, in ten 
volumes, does ample justice to him. Likewise, in the 
history of South Carolina, Dr. Ramsay, his compeer in 
the Revolutionary war, gives his character and services 
justly and properly. 

Christopher Gadsden was 'the prime mover of Ameri- 
can Independence in South Carolina, as James Otis was 
in Massachusetts, and Patrick Henry in Virginia. 
The Rutledges, Pinckneys, Henry Laurens, and others, 
were with him heart and soul in Carolina. So were 
Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Joseph 
Warren and others in Massachusetts with James Otis, 
264 



CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 265 

in all the ardor of a burning patriotism, and determined 
resistance to British oppression. The same may be said 
of the Lees, Washington, Jefferson, Mason and the other 
patriots and leaders of the rebels in Virginia. They all 
felt and acted with Patrick Henry. But Otis and Gads- 
den and Henry spoke first and fired the public mind of 
their respective states. They may properly be said to 
have sowed the first seeds of rebellion and independ- 
ence. Otis, in his speech in 1761, against "Writs of 
Assistance" before the Supreme court of Massachusetts; 
Christopher Gadsden in his conversations with his asso- 
ciates and compeers in Charleston under the shade of 
his tree of liberty in 1765 ; and Patrick Henry about 
the same time in the House of Burgesses of Virginia. 

Christopher Gadsden was born in Charleston, S. C, 
in 1724. His father, Thomas Gadsden, was a lieutenant 
in the British navy, and a gentleman of fortune. It is 
said that he lost a large portion of his estate in play 
with Admiral Anson on his visit to Charleston in 1733, 
which his son Christopher afterwards repurchased. He 
was sent at a very early age to England to be educated, 
and became a finished Greek, Latin and French scholar. 
It seems he had a talent for languages, for during his 
long imprisonment by the British in Florida, he 
made himself a good Hebrew and Oriental scholar. 
On his return to Charleston from England he was 
placed in a counting-house in Philadelphia, where he 
remained till he was twenty-one years old. He then 
visited England again, and, returning a passenger on 
board of a man-of-war, he was appointed purser of the 
vessel, in place of that officer who died on the passage. 
He continued in the British Navy two years and then 
commenced merchandise, and ended by planting and 
factorage. He was the intimate companion and bosom 
friend of Henry Laurens. They were both born repub- 
licans, and Dr. Ramsay says had Gadsden lived in the 
days of Charles the First, he would have been another 
Hampden. So too would Henry Laurens have been. 



266 CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 

They were very much alike in their characters and 
somewhat so in their fortunes. After serving their 
country most faithfully, they were captured by the Eng- 
lish, and whilst one was a prisoner in the tower of Lou- 
don, the other was a prisoner in the dungeon of St. 
Augustine. 

In the year 1759, when Governor Lyttleton made his 
expedition against the Cherokee Indians, Gadsden 
raised a company of artillery, the first ever organized in 
the Province. This is said to be after many changes 
what is now called in Charleston "the Ancient Battal- 
ion of Artillery." By the by I saw it proposed by the 
Adjutant General the other day to change the name of 
this "Ancient Battalion" and call it a regiment. 

In 1765 Gadsden, Lynch and John Rutledge were 
appointed delegates from South Carolina to the Stamp 
Act Convention, as it was called, when nine states assem- 
bled at the call of Massachusetts for consultation as to 
their national and colonial rights. He had been in 
correspondence with Samuel Adams, another congenial 
spirit of his, and warmly espoused the cause of New 
England. He was mainly instrumental in getting South 
Carolina to meet Massachusetts, and if she had not 
done so there would have been no convention in 1765. 
The other colonies doubted the propriety of such a step 
at the time, and four of the thirteen did not send dele- 
gates. The truth, no doubt, is that Gadsden foresaw at 
that time the Independence of the American Colonies. 
He did not think it right or possible for so large a 
country, settled by free, independent and intelligent 
citizens to be governed by a little island, three thousand 
miles distant, with the Atlantic Ocean between them. 

It was abhorrent to his republican feelings and his 
sense of justice, to see the Governors of the Province, 
the Judges and all the public officers appointed by the 
ministry in England. In a good government he would 
have been the best of citizens, but in an arbitrary and 
oppressive government he would always have been an 



CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 267 

arch rebel. He could not tolerate any infringement on 
his rights. In his history of the United States, Bancroft 
gives the following character of Christopher Gadsden : 
" He was a man of deep and clear convictions, thoroughly 
sincere, of an unbending will, and a sturdy, impetuous 
integrity, which drove those about him like the dashing 
of a mountain torrent on an overshot wheel, a resistless 
power, though sometimes clogging with back water 
from its own violence. He had not only that courage 
which defies danger, but that invincible persistence 
which neither peril nor imprisonment nor the threat of 
death can shake. Full of religious faith, and at the 
same time inquisitive and tolerant, methodical, yet lav- 
ish of his fortune for public ends, he had in his nature 
nothing vacillating or low, and knew not how to hesi- 
tate or feign." 

The question was submitted in the convention of 1765 
whether they should build their defence of American 
liberty "on charters or natural justice on precedents and 
facts, or on special privileges or universal reason." 
"Gadsden, of South Carolina," says Bancroft, "giving 
utterance to the warm impulse of a brave and noble 
nature, spoke against vesting their defence on charters 
with irresistible impetuosity. He said: 'A confirmation 
of our essential and common rights as Englishmen, may 
be pleaded from charters safely enough, but any further 
dependence on them may be fatal. We should stand 
upon the broad common ground of those natural rights 
that we all feel and know as men and as descendants 
of Englishmen. I wish the charters may not insnare 
us at last by drawing different colonies to act differently 
in this great cause. Whenever that is the case, all will 
be over with the whole. There ought to be no New 
England men, no New Yorkers known on the Conti- 
nent, but all of us Americans.'" These views carried 
the convention and were those of James Otis and John 
Rutledge. 

In 1774 a congress of all the colonies was called, and 



268 CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 

Christopher Gadsden with John Rutledge, Thomas 
Lynch, Edmond Rutledge and Henry Middleton, was 
appointed a delegate. Gadsden, true to the principles 
of 1765, contended in this convention that the right to 
regulate trade was the right to legislate, and a right to 
legislate in one case is a right to legislate in all. He 
urged that General Gage should be attacked and routed 
from Boston before reinforcements could arrive. He 
contended that rice should not be exported as well as 
other restricted articles. This would have sacrificed his 
interest as the owner of a great wharf built by him in 
Charleston and still known as Gadsden's Wharf. It 
was proposed that the tea destroyed in Boston should be 
paid for. Gadsden said " don't pay for an ounce of the 
damned tea ! " 

Gadsden Avas also a member of the Congress in 1776 
and had to return home before the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence to take charge of his military command in 
defence of Charleston, when assaulted by Henry Clinton 
and Sir Peter Parker. He presented the standard to be 
used in the American Navy to the Congress of South 
Carolina, then in session. It represented in a yellow 
field a rattle snake, with thirteen full-grown rattles, 
coiled to strike, with the motto " don't tread on me." 

In 1779, when Charleston was besieged by Prevost, it 
was proposed to surrender the city, which Gadsden 
strenuously opposed, and when it was decided that 
Laurens should carry this message to the enemy, he 
scornfully refused. The next day the British army was 
withdrawn in consequence of an intercepted letter from 
General Lincoln which stated that he was marching with 
a large army to the relief of the city. When the surren- 
der of Charleston was made, Gadsden was Lieutenant- 
Governor of the State, and paroled. Soon afterwards he 
was arrested with thirty or forty of the principal citizens 
and sent to St. Augustine without any cause being 
assigned for this violation of the surrender. When they 
arrived at St. Augustine the prisoners were required to 



CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN. 269 

give their pledge not to violate their parole. Gadsden 
replied he had once given this pledge and the British 
had violated it on their part and he should give no other. 
The officer informed him unless he did this, he would 
be placed in a dungeon. Gadsden replied, " I will not. 
In God I put my trust and fear no consequences." He 
was consequently kept in a dungeon seven or eight 
months, and prohibited all intercourse with his fellow- 
prisoners. 

When he was finally exchanged he returned home and 
was elected Governor, which office he declined on account 
of his age and infirmity. Though he had been so cruelly 
treated he was opposed to the confiscation of the property 
of the loyalists and did not wish them exiled. He 
served in the State Convention which ratified the Federal 
Constitution and also in the convention which framed 
the State Constitution of 1790. He held very unfavor- 
able opinions of lawyers and doctors, and concurred in 
that clause of Mr. Locke's fundamental constitution, 
which makes it "a base and vile thing to plead for 
money or reward." He survived his 81st year and 
enjoyed good health, " and at last died," says Dr. 
Ramsay, " more from the consequences of an accidental 
fall than the weight of disease or decays of nature." He 
was the grandfather of Bishop Gadsden and General 
Gadsden of the United States army. Well may South 
Carolina be proud of this old hero, patriot and states- 
man. It may with the strictest truth be said that there 
was no fear in his heroism, no selfishness in his patriot- 
ism, no folly in his statesmanship. 



WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 

This eminent statesman was the greatest of all Geor- 
gia's distinguished sons. He was indeed a great man, a 
giant in intellect as well as in size. No one can look at 
the noble head and face of his portrait without being 
impressed with his greatness. And it is said that his 
large and well-proportioned person was equally impres- 
sive. There was, too, a charm in his brilliant conversa- 
tion, and bright beaming countenance, which made his 
simplicity of person and manners perfectly fascinating. 
In South Carolina great injustice has been done Wil- 
liam Harris Crawford, in consequence of his having 
been the rival of Mr. Calhoun for the Presidency, whilst 
they were both members of Mr. Monroe's cabinet. It 
is hard to do justice to a rival in love or in politics; 
and it is equally hard for the friends of rival candidates 
to appreciate their respective opponents. 

It was the fashion in South Carolina forty or fifty 
years ago, to regard Mr. Crawford as an ambitious, cun- 
ning, and intriguing aspirant for the Presidency. There 
is no doubt that he possessed honorable ambition ; but 
cunning and intrigue were foreign to his open-hearted, 
frank nature. His fine person, the simplicity of his 
manners, his great conversational powers, and correct 
views of our Federal and State Governments made him 
a favorite with all the members of Congress. They were 
anxious to nominate him for the Presidency in 1817, 
when Mr. Monroe was nominated in caucus. But he 
said to his friends, " nominate Mr. Monroe, I am young 
enough to wait ! " And but for this, he would have 
been nominated in the Congressional caucus. Does this 
look like unholy ambition? The truth is that his 
270 



WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 271 

opponents attributed his great influence over his associ- 
ates to cunning and intrigue, when in fact it was owing 
to his great intellectual powers, and correct, patriotic 
notions of our government. He was a States' rights man 
when the fashion of his great cotemporaries, Adams, 
Clay, Calhoun, Webster and others, was for a strong 
national government. He was more after the school of 
Mr. Jeiferson, more Democratic and States' rights, and 
consequently more popular with the people and mem- 
bers of Congress. 

Mr. Crawford was born in Nelson County, Virginia, 
February 24th, 1772. When he was seven years old his 
father, Jack Crawford, removed with his family to Edge- 
field District, South Carolina. In the course of twelve 
months, he was forced by the British troops to remove 
into Chester, and was taken prisoner and confined in 
Camden jail. In 1783 he moved into Georgia and 
settled in Columbia County. In a very short time he 
died there, and most of his servants were swept off by 
smallpox. In order to assist his widowed mother in 
supporting her large and helpless family, he taught 
school several years, and then became a pupil of the 
Rev. Dr. Waddel, a famous classical teacher in the 
upper country and afterwards President of Athens 
College, Georgia. Mr. Waddel was the son of Mr. 
Wirt's Blind Preacher, so beautifully and elegantly 
sketched in his " British Spy." " Socrates died like a 
philosopher, but Jesus Christ like a God ! " This was 
one of the blind preacher's expressions, in a little log 
meeting-house in the woods of Virginia. This preceptor 
of young Crawford used to boast in his old age of the 
great men whom he had taught in his school-house at 
Willington, Abbeville District, South Carolina. And 
well might the old gentleman boast of his pupils, 
for no other school-master in America ever had such a 
brilliant galaxy of boys. Among them were John C. 
Calhoun, George McDuffie, Hugh S. Legare, James L. 
Petigru, William H. Crawford, Judge Longstreet, 



272 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 

Chancellor Ward law, Judge Wardlaw, and many others, 
afterwards greatly distinguished in life. Of all his 
pupils Mr. Waddel thought most highly of the intel- 
lectual powers of William H. Crawford, although John 
C. Calhoun was his brother-in-law. 

Mr. Crawford had shown such capacity for learning 
when a child that his father determined to send him to 
Scotland, and have him thoroughly educated, but his 
death and the loss of his property rendered this scheme 
impracticable. After leaving Mr. Waddel's classical 
school young Crawford taught in an academy in Augusta 
and read law whilst teaching. How many great men 
in America have commenced life as school masters? 
Old John Adams did, Luther Martin did, and also 
Judge O'Neall, Judge Evans, James L. Petigru, Chan- 
cellor Caldwell, etc. 

In the spring of 1799, Mr. Crawford opened his law 
office in Oglethorpe county, without money and without 
patrons; but his talents, industry and perseverance soon 
made him friends and business, and in 1802 he was at 
the head of his profession. He represented Oglethorpe 
county in the Legislature for four years, and whilst a 
member of that body acquired his extensive and perma- 
nent popularity which never afterwards left him. In 
1807 he was elected to the United States Senate and 
again re-elected in 1811 without opposition. His debut 
in the Senate was in a discussion with that veteran 
debater, Governor Giles of Virginia. This discussion 
gave him a high reputation for talents, learning and 
ability, which he never lost whilst he remained a mem- 
ber of the Senate. He was elected President of the Sen- 
ate, and tendered the office of Secretary of War by Mr. 
Madison, which he declined, in 1813. He was then 
sent as Minister to France and remained there two or 
three years. During his residence in Paris he formed 
a most intimate friendship with General Lafayette, 
and they continued to correspond for many years. 

On his return to the United States, he was appointed 



WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 273 

Secretary of War and then Secretary of the Treasury by 
Mr. Madison. His friends now urged him to let them 
put his name in nomination for the Presidency, and he 
promptly refused, as has been already stated. The 
Congressional caucus, however, came very near nomina- 
ting him over Mr. Monroe, notwithstanding his posi- 
tive refusal. This showed very great personal popular- 
ity, and he was then only forty-five years old. He was 
a member of Mr. Monroe's Cabinet for eight years, and 
filled with great ability the Treasury Department. Mr. 
Adams was Secretary of State, Mr. Calhoun Secretary 
of War, and Mr. Wirt Attorney-General. What a 
glorious Cabinet this was. It has never been surpassed. 
Three of the members were brought forward as rival 
candidates for the Presidency. In consequence of Mr. 
Crawford's long illness during the canvass for the 
Presidency, his friends in a great measure abandoned 
him. They thought it would be doing injustice to the 
country to place a paralytic invalid in the Presidential 
chair. Mr. Adams was elected, and he earnestly request- 
ed Mr. Crawford to continue Secretary of the Treasury, 
notwithstanding his ill health. But his offer was 
declined, and Mr. Crawford returned to Georgia, where 
he was elected a judge, and re-elected till his death in 
1834. At that time there was no Appeal or Supreme 
court in Georgia, and we have no reports of Judge 
Crawford's decisions. His judicial opinion in the cele- 
brated Indian case, the State vs. Tassels, is referred to 
as being one of great ability and which shows that 
his mind was not impaired by his long illness at Wash- 
ington. He had a holy horror of listening to silly 
speeches in court. It must be very painful to a judge 
to have to sit patiently and hear a long dull foolish argu- 
ment in some plain, unimportant case. 

Whilst reading law in Augusta, Mr. Crawford became 
engaged to his wife, who was a Miss Giroudin. But 
his poverty for seven long years prevented his getting 
married. When he found he was making enough by 



274 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 

his profession to support a wife and family, he married 
his betrothed and they lived together most happily to 
the end of his life. They had eight children, and it is 
said his domestic circle presented the most perfect speci- 
men of a democratic government that was ever seen. 
Father, mother, sons and daughters, <»ld and young, all 
lived together as equals. They discussed family matters 
and took a vote, the majority always controlling. Mrs. 
Crawford, like her great husband, was very plain and 
simple in her dress and manners. Mr. Crawford, like 
Col. Benton, assisted very much in the education of his 
children. Likewise he was continually giving them 
good advice. 

The following admirably drawn character of this 
great man is taken from a memoir of his life in the 
" National Portrait Gallery," and was evidently written 
by one who knew him well. The sketch is so perfect 
that I cannot abridge it, and I am sure the reader will 
thank me for not doing so : 

" Mr. Crawford was a man considerably above ordinary 
height, large, muscular and well-proportioned. His 
head and face were remarkably striking and impressed 
the beholder at once with the belief that he must pos- 
sess more than ordinary powers of intellect. His com- 
plexion was fair, and, until late in life, ruddy. His 
features were strong and regular. When at rest, they 
indicated great firmness and perseverance of character. 
When he smiled, an engaging benignity overspread his 
whole countenance. His eyes, before they were affected 
by his protracted illness at Washington, were clear, blue, 
mild, though radiant. His deportment was affable, his 
step firm, his gait erect and manly, but not ostentatious, 
indicating courage and independence. 

" His manners, though free from stiffness and hauteur, 
were never very graceful. They were such, however, 
as to make all about him feel easy. There was in him 
a certain consciousness of superior mind, as has been 
said of another, which could not always be repressed nor 



WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 275 

withdrawn from observation. He was at ail times a 
man of decided feelings — warm in his attachments, and 
vehement in his resentments. He was prompt to repel 
insults, and equally prompt to forgive, whenever an 
appeal was made to his clemency. No personal labor 
was too great to be endured, if by it he could elevate 
modest merit from poverty to comfort, or advance the 
interests and honor of his friends. No child of distress 
ever made an unsuccessful appeal to his charity. His 
rule was to give something in every case, but to regulate 
the amount by the necessities which urged the call. 

" Few men have felt such perfect contempt for show 
and display as Mr. Crawford. His dress was always 
plain, and never in his way. Indeed he gave himself 
no care whatever about what he should wear. After 
marriage he referred the subject of dress to Mrs. Craw- 
ford, who was as plain and unaffected in her taste as 
himself. Though his situation in public life often 
required him, out of respect to the custom of the coun- 
try, and to avoid the charge of eccentricity, to keep up 
a style and equipage of unrivalled splendor, it was mani- 
fest that his heart was not in it ; nor does any one at all 
acquainted with the man believe for a moment that his 
opposition to these things proceeded from penuriousness 
or any kindred sentiment. He was a man of unques- 
tioned liberality. He was seldom known to ask the 
price of anything, and never considered anything dear 
that added to the pleasure and comfort of himself or 
family. At an early age he imbibed the sentiment that 
dandyism and intellectuality were antagonistic traits of 
character, and he was heard to say a short time before 
his death that, amidst an extensive acquaintance with 
men of distinction in this country and in Europe, he had 
seen but two dandies who were men of genius." [It is 
very probable that William Pinkney, of Maryland, 
was one of the dandies of genius.] "Modest virtue, 
sound sense, and stern integrity were the surest passports 
to his esteem. With these a poor man was a prince in 



276 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 

his affections; without them, a prince was the poorest of 
all beings. 

" Mr. Crawford's house has often been styled ' Liberty- 
Hall ' by those familiar with the unrestrained niirthful- 
ness, hilarity and social glee which marked his fireside ; 
and the perfect freedom with which every child, from 
the eldest to the youngest, expressed his or her opinion 
upon the topics suggested by the moment, whether those 
topics referred to men or measures. His children were 
always encouraged to act out their respective characters, 
precisely as they were ; and the actions and sentiments 
of each were always a fair subject of commendation or 
good-humored ridicule by the rest. They criticised the 
opinions and conduct of the father with the same free- 
dom as those of each other, and he acknowledged his 
errors or argued his defence with the same kind of spirit 
and good temper as distinguished his course towards 
them in every other case. The family government was 
one of the best specimens of democracy the world has 
ever seen. There was nothing like faction in the estab- 
lishment. According to the last census, before marriage 
and emigration commenced, the population was ten, 
consisting of father and mother and eight children, of 
whom five are sons and three daughters. Suffrage on all 
questions was universal, extending to male and female. 
Freedom of speech and equal rights were felt and 
acknowledged to be the birthright of each. Knowledge 
was a common stock, to which each felt a peculiar plea- 
sure in contributing according as opportunity enabled 
him. When afflictions or misfortunes came, each bore 
a share in the common burden. When health and pros- 
perity returned, each became emulous of heightening 
the common joy. Chess, draughts and other games 
involving calculation and judgment, and plays which 
called for rapid thought, quick perception and ready 
answers, formed sources of the indoor amusements. 
Those requiring rigor of nerve and agility of muscle 
were performed upon the green. In all these sports 



WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 277 

upon the green and in the house, Mr. Crawford was, 
even down to his last days, the companion of his chil- 
dren, delighting them often by taking part himself. 
Though the disease of which he suffered so much while 
at Washington deprived him of his activity, his zeal for 
the gratification of his children, and his delight in con- 
tributing all he could to their happiness knew no abate- 
ment. As a husband, he was kind, affectionate and 
devoted. He was never ostentatious in his attachments 
to any one, always evincing his regard more by substan- 
tial beneficence than by words. No parent was ever 
better loved by his children than he. His home instruc- 
tions were of incalculable advantage to them. He 
never contented himself with merely sending them to 
schools of highest and best repute, but made a personal 
examination of them almost every day, that he might 
see how they progressed and how they were taught. 
He was in the habit of drawing them around him in a 
class and requiring them to read with him. On these 
occasions the Bible was his chief class-book, and Job 
and Psalms his favorite portions. At no time of his 
life did he ever lose sight of the importance of storing- 
the minds of his children with virtuous principles. The 
strict observance of truth, the maintenance of honor, 
generosity and integrity of character, he never ceased to 
enjoin upon them as indispensable to respectability and 
happiness. 

" It is not within the knowledge of any of his children 
that he was ever guilty of profane swearing. He never 
made a profession of religion, but was a decided believer 
in Christianity, a life member of the American Bible 
Society, and a regular contributor to the support of the 
Gospel." 

When was there ever drawn a nobler sketch of the 
head, heart and person of a great man, than the above 
extract contains? William H. Crawford was, indeed, a 
most lovable and exalted character. Well may Georgia 
be proud of him. No wonder that he won all hearts 



278 WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 

in Congress and his State Legislature. His talents and 
his virtues did this, and not that cunning and intrigue 
which rivals attributed to him. They were foreign to 
such a nature, and never were combined with high tal- 
ents and lofty virtues. He was Jefferson's favorite can- 
didate for the Presidency in 1824, in preference to 
Adams, Jackson, Clay and Calhoun. 

Twice was Mr. Crawford engaged in an affair of 
honor. Once with Van Allen, a cousin of President 
Van Buren ; and a second time with Governor Clark, 
of Georgia. In the first, his antagonist was fatally 
wounded; and in the second he himself was wounded 
in the arm. This latter duel gave rise to the Clark and 
Troup parties, which divided Georgia for many years. 

The death of Mr. Crawford occurred on the 15th 
September, 1834. He had started on his circuit to hold 
court, was taken sick at the house of a friend, and the 
next day died of heart disease. " His remains," says 
his memoir, written in 1839, " lie buried under a plain 
mound of earth, at his residence, Wapdlawn, where he 
had lived since 1802, except when public employment 
required his residence abroad or in Washington." No 
tombstone or inscription then marked his grave. It is 
to be hoped that his family or the State of Georgia has 
since that time, erected a monument over his grave. 



PATRICK HENRY. 

There is a Latin maxim that a man must be born a 
poet, or he cannot make one — " Poeta nascitur non est." 
This is equally true as to the orator. A man must be 
born an orator, or he will never become one. Learning 
and culture may greatly improve eloquence, as they did 
in the case of William Pinckney of Maryland, and 
Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina. They may also 
beautify and ornament poetry, as they did in Milton, 
who possessed all learning and culture. We know 
nothing of Homer, the greatest of all poets. He may 
have been learned and accomplished in his day and time 
for what we know. 

Patrick Henry was a born orator. He has the repu- 
tation of having been the greatest of all our Revolu- 
tionary orators, and they were many and eloquent and 
great. He never had much learning or culture. In 
early youth his education was defective, and throughout 
life he was lazy and idle. Jefferson says his associates 
were overseers, and rough, ignorant men. How he 
acquired his agreeable manners and pleasing address was 
a mystery to him. But it should not have been more 
of a mystery than his eloquence. Both were Nature's 
gifts, born with him. Very often, in the humblest 
walks of life, we meet with manners and address which 
would do honor to a prince. They are natural, like 
honesty and nobility of character. Some men are born 
clowns and fools, and never can become anything else. 
So, too, there are some who are born rascals and rogues, 
and never can change their nature. Education and 
association may disguise bad qualities, but they will 
occasionally peep out. In other words, Nature will, in 
the end, assert herself. 
279 



280 PATRICK HENRY. 

Mr. Henry was born May 29, 1736, four years after 
the birth of Washington, in Hanover County, Virginia- 
His father, Colonel John Henry, was a native of Aber- 
deen, Scotland, and the nephew of William Robertson, 
the great historian. Consequently, Patrick Henry and 
Lord Brougham were second cousins, both being grand 
nephews of the historian. It may likewise be stated 
that Mr. Henry was the grand uncle of that brilliant 
orator and accomplished scholar and gentleman, Colonel 
William C. Preston, United States Senator from South 
Carolina, and President of her College. The father of 
Patrick Henry was a great loyalist before the American 
Revolution, and took great pride in toasting King 
George, and addressing his regiment on their duty and 
allegiance to the crown. The mother of Patrick Henry 
was a Winston. She had married Colonel John Lyme, 
and after his death, married Colonel John Henry, who- 
was living with her first husband at the time of his 
death. They had nine children, and Patrick was the 
second. The Winstons were remarkable for their elo- 
quence. A gentleman said to Mr. Wirt, the biographer 
of Patrick Henry, that William Winston, the brother 
of Mrs. Henry, was the most eloquent man he had 
ever heard except Patrick Henry. 

Colonel John Henry was in very moderate circum- 
stances, and could not afford to give his children a col- 
legiate education. Patrick was sent to an "old field 
school " until he was ten years old. His father then 
opened a grammar school in his own house. He was 
well educated, and under his tuition Patrick learned 
mathematics and Latin. But he never manifested any 
disposition to study or read whilst a boy. He was fond 
of hunting and fishing, and for these purposes frequently 
absented himself from school. When thirteen years old 
his father placed him behind the counter, in a country 
merchant's store. Then, at the age of fifteen, he and 
his elder brother, William, were set up in business as 
merchants by their father. In a short time they failed 



PATRICK HENRY. 281 

in business, but this did not depress the spirits or chill 
the affections of the great orator in embryo. At eigh- 
teen he married a Miss Shelton, the daughter of a poor 
farmer in the neighborhood. Their parents settled 
them on a little farm with two or three slaves. But 
his idleness and want of method as a merchant stuck 
to him as a farmer. In a short time he sold his farm, 
and once more turned merchant. His idle habits and 
his ill luck followed him again, and in a few years he 
was again a bankrupt. His kind heart and generous 
nature would not permit him to refuse credit to any one. 
He would shut up his store and be in the chase for game,, 
or lie all day on the banks of some stream, watching the 
cork on his line for " a glorious nibble." 

As a last resort, he thought he would turn his atten- 
tion to the law as a means of livelihood. He was then 
twenty-three years old, and no doubt had several chil- 
dren. After reading five or six months, he was reluct- 
antly admitted to the bar by his examiners. Chancel- 
lor Wythe positively refused to sign his certificate on 
account of his ignorance in the profession. For three 
years he met with no success at the bar. During this 
time he lived with his father-in-law, who kept a hotel,, 
and he assisted in the business of the house. 

The first case of any importance in which Mr. Henry 
was engaged in court was the celebrated "parsons case." 
It occurred in 1763, when he was twenty-seven years 
old. The Episcopal church was the established religion 
of Virginia, and the pastor of each church received 
sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco as a salary. Tobacco 
became very high, and the Legislature gave a sum of 
money in lieu of it. This act was vetoed by the King,, 
and the clergy brought suit for the tobacco. The case 
was argued by Mr. Lewis for the people on a demurrer.. 
The demurrer was overruled, and Mr. Lewis, a very 
distinguished and learned lawyer, abandoned the case as 
hopeless. Mr. Henry was then employed, and the 
court-house was crowded with anxious spectators. 



282 PATRICK HENRY. 

Thirty of the parsons were present to witness their tri- 
umph. The uncle of Patrick Henry was one of them. 
He went to his uncle and told him to go home, or he 
would hear things unpleasant to him. His father was 
one of the county court Judges. The son opened the 
case awkwardly, and his friends hung their heads. 
The parsons looked at each other and smiled in triumph. 
But soon a change came over them and the court and 
the crowded audience. 

The following is Mr. Wirt's description of the young 
barrister: "Now were those wonderful faculties which 
he possessed for the first time developed ; and now was 
first witnessed that mysterious and almost supernatural 
transformation of appearance which the fire of his own 
eloquence never failed to work in him. For, as his 
mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own 
action, all the exercise of the clown seemed to shed 
themselves spontaneously. His attitude by degrees 
became erect and lofty. The spirit of his genius awak- 
ened all his features. His countenance shone with a 
nobleness and grandeur which it had never before exhib- 
ited. There was a lightning in his e}'es which seemed 
to rive the spectator. His action became graceful, bold 
and commanding; and in the tones of his voice, but 
more especially in his emphasis, there was a peculiar 
charm, a magic, of which any one who ever knew him 
will speak as soon as he is named, but of which no one 
can give any adequate description. They can only 
say that it struck upon the ear and upon the heart in a 
manner which language cannot tell. Add to all these 
his wonder-working fancy and the peculiar phraseology 
in which he clothed his images; for he pointed to the 
heart with a force that almost petrified it. In the lan- 
guage of those who heard him on this occasion, 'he made 
their blood run cold and their hair to rise on end.'" 

The parsons could stand it no longer, and ran out of 
the house. The jury had scarcely left the bar when 
they returned with a verdict of " One penny damages." 



PATRICK HENRY. 283 

A motion was made for a new trial and refused by the 
court, who seemed to have lost the equipoise of their 
judgment. The crowd took hold of Mr. Henry, carried 
him out of court, hoisted him on their shoulders, and 
marched through the streets as conquering hero. He 
was immediately retained in all the leading cases on his 
circuit, and styled " the orator of nature." 

In 1765, on the passage of the Stamp Act, he was 
elected a member of the House of Burgesses. He was 
almost entirely unknown to the rich planters with 
whom he was now associated, " and they looked with 
contempt and scorn on the awkward youth in leather 
knee breeches and a homespun coat, who ventured to 
assume the post of leader in an august assemblage." 
He wrote hurriedly, on the fly leaf of an old book, his 
famous and immortal resolutions against the right of 
the British Parliament to tax the colonies. The best 
patriots received the resolutions with a tempest of 
opposition. They were declared extreme, impolitic and 
dangerous. Mr. Jefferson says the debate was " most 
bloody." In the midst of the discussion Mr. Henry 
thundered : " Cresar had his Brutus, Charles the First 
his Cromwell, and George the Third" — "Treason!" 
cried the speaker, " treason ! treason ! " echoed from 
every part of the House — " may profit by their 
example. Tf this be treason make the most of it ! " 
The resolutions were carried by a majority of one. The 
sceptre had departed from the rich planters, and was 
now wielded by a county court lawyer. From this time 
Patrick Henry became a power in the State. 

In 1774 Mr. Henry was appointed by the Virginia 
Convention to meet the delegates of the other colonies 
in a Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Washington, 
Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, Pendleton, 
Wythe and Bland were his colleagues. When this 
august assembly met, the members were personally 
unknown to each other, and there was, for some time 
after their organization, an awkward and painful silence. 



284 PATRICK HENRY. 

Mr. Henry rose, as if borne down with the weight of 
the subject which had called them together, and launched 
out into a recital of the colonial wrongs. " Rising as he 
advanced," says Mr. Wirt, " with the grandeur of his- 
subject, and glowing at length with all the majesty and 
expectation of the occasion, his speech seemed more than 
that of mortal man. Even those who had heard him 
in all his glory, in the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 
were astonished at the manner in which his talents 
seemed to swell and expand themselves to fill the roster 
theatre in which he was now placed. There was no 
rant, no rhapsody, no labor of the understanding, no 
straining of the voice, no confusion of the utterance. 
His countenance was erect, his eye steady, his action 
noble, his enunciation clear and firm, his mind poised 
on its centre, his view of his subject comprehensive and 
great, and his imagination with a magnificence and a 
variety which struck even that assembly with amaze- 
ment and awe. He sat down amidst murmurs of 
astonishment and applause ; and as he had been before 
proclaimed the greatest orator of Virginia, he was now, 
on every hand, admitted to be the first orator of 
America." 

Mr. Henry was appointed to draw up a petition to 
the king. Here he failed, and his draft was referred to 
John Dickinson, who penned that imperishable docu- 
ment. Richard Henry Lee followed Mr. Henry in a 
speech of surpassing eloquence, and he was appointed 
to draw up an address to the people of Great Britain. 
His paper was a failure also, and had to be recast by 
John Jay. After this the members of the Convention, 
who had been thrilled with the elocpaence of the Demos- 
thenes and Cicero of Virginia, and had said, " we might 
as well go home, for we are not able to legislate with 
these men," changed their opinions, and remarked, 
"well, after all, we find these are but men, and in mere 
matters of business but very common men." 

It has been said that the talents of speaking and 



PATRICK HENRY. 285 

writing are not united in the same person. But this is 
a mistake; they were united in an eminent degree in 
Demosthenes and Cicero, the greatest of ancient orators. 
A man who speaks well can write well, if he has been 
educated and has stored his mind with learning and 
useful information. But the able writer may not be an 
orator at all; and hundreds of instances might be 
enumerated. 

In 1775 the Virginia Convention assembled again, 
and Mr. Henry submitted resolutions to organize the 
militia and put the Old Dominion in a condition of 
military defence. This was alarming, and shocked some 
of the best patriots in the convention. It was then that 
Henry said: "There is no longer any room for hope. 
If we wish to be free we must fight — I repeat, sir, we 
must fight. An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts 
is all that is left us. There is no retreat but in submis- 
sion and slavery. Our chains are forged. Their clank- 
ing may be heard upon the plains of Boston. The war 
is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it 
come ! Gentlemen may cry peace, peace — but there is 
no peace. The war has actually begun. The next gale 
that sweeps from the North will bring to our ears the 
clash of resounding arms. Our brethren are already in 
the field ! Why stand we here idle ? Is life so dear or 
peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains 
and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not 
what course others may take, but as for myself," cried 
he, with both arms extended aloft, his brow knit, every 
feature marked with the resolute purpose of his soul, 
and his voice swelled to its loudest note of exclamation, 
" Give me Liberty or give me Death ! " 

Henry, Washington, Lee and others were appointed 
to organize the militia. When the Governor, Lord 
Dunmore, sent in the night time and secretly removed a 
large quantity of powder from the magazine in Wil- 
liamsburg, Henry ordered out the Hanover militia, and 
marched at their head to recapture the powder. Five 



286 PATRICK HENRY. 

thousand men joined him on his march towards the 
capital. He was anxious to strike a blow and make the 
issue at once. But Lord Dunmore sent messengers to 
Henry, and compromised the difficulty by paying for 
the powder. He was in the Congress of 1775, but did 
not make himself so conspicuous. In 1776 he was a 
delegate to the Virginia Convention, and two months 
before the Declaration of Independence was made, he 
introduced resolutions instructing the Congressional 
delegates from Virginia to vote for Independence. 

In 1776 he was elected the first Republican Governor 
of Virginia and was re-elected several times. In 1788 
he was a member of the State Convention called to con- 
sider the adoption of the Federal Constitution. He 
opposed the Constitution with all his eloquence for 
several days. His speeches are to be seen in " Elliot's 
Debates " on the adoption of the Federal Constitution 
in all the state conventions. It must be admitted that 
they do not sustain his great reputation as an orator or 
debater. The speeches of Madison and Chief Justice 
Marshal are greatly superior in every point of view to 
those of Mr. Henry. In 1795 he was tendered the 
appointment of Secretary of State by Washington, which 
he declined. He also declined the Mission to France 
which was offered him by President Adams. In 1798 
he was for the fourth time elected Governor of Virginia, 
which he also declined. In 1799 he became a candidate 
for the Virginia Senate in opposition to Madison's reso- 
lutions on the rights of the States. John Randolph 
met him on this occasion in the canvass. Henry's speech 
was regarded as a most powerful one against the doc- 
trines of the resolutions of 1798. An old man said to 
him " your sun has set in all its glory." He was elected 
to the Senate, but died before he took his seat. 

Patrick Henry was twice married and had fifteen 
children. He first married a Miss Shelton, as I have 
already stated, and by her had six children. She died 
after he had become a great man, and he then married 



PATRICK HENRY. 287 

a Miss Dandridge, no doubt a relation of Mrs. Wash- 
ington's, whose maiden name was Dandridge. By her 
he had nine children, six sons and three daughters who 
all survived him. After his death* his widow married 
Judge Winston, a cousin of Henry's. Henry was a 
remarkably kind father and husband. In his old age 
he has been found lying on his back in the parlor play- 
ing his riddle, with a half-dozen children dancing and 
romping around him seeing who could make the most 
noise. He left all of his children rich, says his biogra- 
pher, by his speculations in lands. He must have a 
great many descendants now living. Some years ago I 
was introduced to a great grandson of his who was the 
agent of a newspaper. He told me he did not like to 
mention his descent, for he regarded it a reflection on 
his position and standing in the community. 

The following is a description of Patrick Henry : 
" Nearly six feet high, spare, raw-boned, and slightly 
stooping in his shoulders, he gave no indication of the 
majesty and grace which characterized his appearance 
when his genius was aroused. His complexion was 
sallow, his countenance grave, thoughtful, stern in repose, 
and marked with the lines of deep and painful reflec- 
tion. His brows were habitually contracted, and com- 
municated to his features an air of forbidding sternness 
and severity. The mouth, with closely compressed lips 
and deep furrows at the corners, was set in an expres- 
sion of unyielding resolution. When he spoke, however, 
a wonderful change passed over him." 

Patrick Henry is said to have been a devout Christian. 
He read a sermon to his family every Sunday evening, 
and published at his own expense for distribution, "But- 
ler's Analogy." He was kind, good-natured, and 
possessed a great deal of dry humor. He was fond of 
music, affable to all men, and had no pride or hauteur 
in his nature. He indulged in none of the vices of high 
living, then so prevalent in Virginia. He made war 
against aristocracy, and was emphatically the" tribune of 
tne people," by whom he was almost idolized. 



288 PATRICK HENRY. 

I had always been under the impression until I saw 
his statue in Richmond, that he had a long, sharp face. 
This stafue represents him with a broad forehead, and a 
full, round face. His life has been written by two of the 
most distinguished orators of America, William Wirt 
and Alexander H. Everett. 

Mr. Jefferson said Patrick Henry was the greatest 
orator the world had ever produced. It is a little 
remarkable that Henry, Demosthenes and Cicero were all 
in their twenty-seventh year, when they first distin- 
guished themselves as great orators. It would seem from 
this that eloquence of the highest order was slow in 
developing itself. Henry Clay, the great modern orator 
of the West, and Patrick Henry, were both born in the 
same county of Virginia, and almost in the same neigh- 
borhood, " the Slashes." It is time for Hanover to 
produce another great orator. Perhaps she will in 
another half century. There is no end to the produc- 
tiveness of Virginia in great men. Illustrious are the 
names of her sons, George Washington, Thomas Jeffer- 
son, James Madison, James Monroe, Patrick Henry, 
Richard Henry Lee, William H. Crawford, Henry Clay, 
•General Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Chief 
Justice Marshall, and hundreds of others. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

Amongst all the eminent American statesmen there 
have been none greater intellectually than Alexander 
Hamilton. I well remember that Governor McDuffie, 
more than forty years ago, expressed this same opinion 
in a speech which he made in Congress on the tariff 
question. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Calhoun, Clay 
and Webster died when they were sixty, seventy and 
eighty years old. But Alexander Hamilton died under 
a false sense of honor, when he was only forty-six years 
old. In that short period of human existence, when the 
English think that a statesman or barrister is just begin- 
ning to enter the arena of fame, Hamilton had achieved 
all his greatness in war, at the bar, in the halls of legis- 
lation, as a cabinet minister and as a voluminous public 
writer of unsurpassed ability. His writings have been 
published by his son in six large volumes, and they are 
a monument of his genius and ability as a statesman. 

Jefferson and Hamilton were great rivals in politics, 
and bitter enemies. They traduced each other very 
much in life, and on the part of Mr. Jefferson his calum- 
nies were continued after the death of his opponent. 
Hamilton was at the head of the Federal party, and 
Jefferson was the great leader of the Republican or 
Democratic party. They were both members of Wash- 
ington's cabinet, and came into it every day pitted 
against each other. Washington generally sided with 
Hamilton, and Jefferson could bear his daily defeats no 
longer, and retired from the cabinet to organize his 
party more effectually throughout the United States. 
In the contest for the Presidency between Jefferson and 
Burr, there is a noble letter from Hamilton to Senator 
289 



290 ALEXANDEK HAMILTON. 

Bayard of Delaware, showing his magnanimity and 
patriotism. The Federal party in Congress were sup- 
porting Colonel Burr in the contested election, knowing 
that he had not received a single vote for the Presidency. 
Their object was to divide and breakdown the Republi- 
can party, and disappoint and mortify its great leader. 
Hamilton had too much greatness of soul and love of 
country to engage in such a conspiracy. He was willing 
to sacrifice all personal hostility at the altar of his coun- 
try's good. In his letter to Bayard he says : " Jefferson 
has done more to blacken my character and injure my 
fame than any other man in America, but he will be 
governed by principle if elected President of the United 
States. Colonel Burr has no principle, in morals or 
politics, and if elected, I firmly believe he will attempt 
the liberties of the Republic." How true and how 
prophetic was this expression. He hated Jefferson with 
a bitter hatred, and at that time had no such feeling 
against Burr, but he knew Colonel Burr to be a man of 
no principle, and thought that he would attempt the lib- 
erties of his country if placed in the Presidential chair. 
He thought Jefferson would be governed by principle 
and the Republic would be safe under his adminis- 
tration. Therefore he advised the Federal party to 
abandon Colonel Burr and let Jefferson be declared Pre- 
sident, as he had been unquestionably elected. It would 
have been a noble act of magnanimity, worth more in 
fame than the Presidency, if President Hayes could 
have acted in a similar manner in the last Presiden- 
tial election, and advised his Republican party to let 
Governor Tilclen be declared President, as he was 
unquestionably elected. 

Alexander Hamilton was in favor of a strong Fed- 
eral government, but he was no monarchist or lover 
of an empire, as has been charged against him. It is 
true he doubted, at the beginning of our republican 
experiment, and so did Washington, the wisdom and 
virtue of the people of the United States to govern 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 291 

themselves and sustain a pure Republican form of gov- 
ernment. But he was, no doubt, like Washington,whosaid 
he himself was ready "to lay down his life to see the 
experiment have a fair trial." At that time great allow- 
ance must be made for this want of confidence in the 
people to maintain a Republican form of government. 
Ancient history proved that all attempts of this kind 
were short lived and failures in the end. All the gov- 
ernments in the world for five thousand years past, had 
been, with few and brief exceptions, anything but 
Republican in form. It was not properly considered 
that the American people were differently situated from 
all other nations. They were all upon an equality, and 
no great fortunes amongst them. They were likewise 
far ahead of the Europeans in general intelligence and 
virtue, with the masses. They had not been divided 
into two classes, known in the old countries as the 
oppressors and oppressed. 

In order to have a stable government, Hamilton at 
one time thought it would be necessary to have the Pre- 
sident and Senators elected for life, like the Judiciary. 
He was also in favor of giving to the President the 
appointment of the Governors of the States, who should 
have a veto on all State legislation. But he soon aban- 
doned all these notions, and was a firm and sincere advo- 
cate of the Federal Constitution in all its provisions. 
He did more than any one else in explaining and causing 
the Constitution of the United States to be adopted by 
the American people. For this purpose he wrote and 
published most of the very able articles now known as 
the " Federalist." Chief Justice Jay wrote five of the 
numbers and President Madison twenty, and all the rest 
were written by Hamilton. It is more than likely that 
the Federal Constitution would not have been adopted, 
but for these essays explaining every feature and prin- 
ciple of the Federal plan of government. 

Alexander Hamilton was born in the Island of Nevis, 
West Indies, January 1 1 , 1757. His father was a Scotch- 



292 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

man and belonged to the distinguished and ancient house 
of Hamilton, in that Kingdom. He was a merchant, 
failed in his business, and passed the remainder of his 
life in poverty and dependence. The mother of Alex- 
ander was of French Huguenot descent, and the daugh- 
ter of a doctor, Faucette, a practicing physician in the 
Island of Nevis. She was a lady of great beauty and 
great intellect, verifying the remark that a great man 
has always had a great mother. She was forced by her 
parents, when very young, to give her hand in marriage 
to a Dane, named Lavine, on account of his wealth. 
Soon, however, she sued for a divorce and was married 
to James Hamilton, the father of Alexander. She died 
in his childhood, and her relatives took charge of her 
infant child. He was taught the rudiments of the 
French and English languages, both of which he spoke 
fluently, and at the age of twelve years he was placed 
in a counting-house. He had no fondness for the life of 
a merchant, and a remarkable letter of his written at 
this early age, is given by his son in his history of the 
Republic, as traced in the writings of his father in six 
volumes. In this letter, addressed to his dear friend 
Edward Stevens, then in New York, he says : " To con- 
fess my weakness, Ned, my ambition is prevalent, so 
that I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk or 
the like, to which my fortune condemns me, and would 
risk my life, though not my character, to exalt my sta- 
tion. I mean to prepare the way for futurity. I wish 
there was a war." 

Although he continued what he considered his grov- 
elling condition, yet he made such progress in it that at 
the age of thirteen he was left at the head of the estab- 
lishment by Mr. Cruger, when he paid a visit to New 
York. He employed all his spare time in reading. Plu- 
tarch and Pope were his favorite authors. He studied 
mathematics and chemistry, and occasionally used his 
pen. An article written by him, giving an account of a 
most terrible hurricane which visited one of the West 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 293 

India Islands in 1772, attracted great public attention, 
and was the cause of his being sent to New York to 
finish his education. He was then only fifteen years 
old. After some preparation at a grammar school in 
New Jersey, he entered what is now known as Colum- 
bia College, in the city of New York. Besides his 
regular studies he attended lectures on anatomy, with 
a view of studying medicine as his profession in after 
life. While thus engaged the American Revolution 
commenced, and young Hamilton addressed a public 
meeting in New York, which drew attention to him. 
Soon afterwards he wrote and published a pamphlet, 
in reply to some strictures on the first American Con- 
gress, which evinced so much ability, scholarship and 
statesman-like views, that it was attributed to Chief 
Justice Jay. 

In March, 1776, when he was only nineteen years 
old, he obtained the commission of a captain of artil- 
lery, and his last remittance from Santa Cruz was 
spent in equipping this company. In the campaign 
which followed, Hamilton took an active part, and 
was in the battles of White Plains, Trenton and Prince- 
ton. Whilst constructing some earth-works, he attracted 
the notice of Washington, and was invited by the 
Commander-in-Chief to his headquarters. Washington 
through life, seemed to have, like Napoleon, an intui- 
tive knowledge of merit and rising genius. He invited 
young Hamilton to accept a place in his military fam- 
ily as one of his aides-de-camp. From that day to the 
day of his death, Washington gave him his confidence 
and patronage. He was his favorite in war and in 
civil life. Washington confided more in him, and was 
more influenced by his opinions and advice, than any 
one else. When it was supposed that a war between 
France and the United States was imminent, Wash- 
ington was appointed Lieutenant-General by President 
Adams, with power to select all his general officers. 
He gave Hamilton the first position in the army, next 



294 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

to himself, and over the head of Knox, Pinckney and 
the senior Generals of the Revolution. There could 
not have been given any higher evidence of Wash- 
ington's confidence in the genius, patriotism and ability 
of Hamilton. The Father of his country never was 
known to bestow office on an unworthy man. When 
Madison and Monroe called on him, as delegates of the 
democratic party, to appoint Colonel Burr Minister to 
France, he said to them, I have made it a rule through 
life to give no appointment to a man in whose integrity 
and principles I have no confidence. I will appoint you, 
Mr. Madison, or you, Mr. Monroe, but not Colonel Burr. 

In the organization of the Federal Government, after 
the first election of Washington, Hamilton is entitled 
to more credit than any one else. His reports on the 
national debt, foreign and domestic, the assumption of 
the State debts, the establishment of a National Bank, 
an excise duty on domestic spirits, and levying a duty 
on foreign importations, with a view to discriminate on 
certain manufactures, are all unsurpassed in ability. 
His discriminating protection of domestic manufactures 
did not exceed ten per cent. No one would ever have 
complained of this, but this protective duty was after- 
wards raised to fifty and one hundred per cent. 

In 1780 Alexander Hamilton, then in his twenty- 
third year, married the second daughter of General 
Schuyler, and thereby became connected with the first 
and wealthiest families of New York. He was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1782 and immediately stood at its 
head. He was about the same time elected by the New 
York Legislature a member of the old Congress. On 
his retirement from the office of Secretary of the Treas- 
ury he resumed the practice of his profession in New 
York, and there came in competition with Aaron Burr. 
Hamilton knew Burr well, and knew his ambition, his 
intrigues and his utter want of principle. When he 
lost his popularity with the republican party, bv contest- 
ing the Presidency with Jefferson, it was proposed by 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 295 

the Federal party of New York to elect him Governor 
of that State. In a convention of the Federalists for 
the purpose of nominating Colonel Burr for Governor, 
Hamilton opposed the nomination and defeated it. This 
•determined Burr to seek personal revenge, and he got 
hold of certain expressions of Hamilton which he 
made the foundation of a challenge. Hamilton was 
opposed to duelling, but said it was absolutely necessary 
to yield to public opinion, and that he might destroy 
his usefulness in future life, if he declined to accept the 
challenge. This might be a good excuse for a young 
man just entering public life. But Hamilton had passed 
through the whole of the Revolutionary war, and had 
shown on every battle-field true courage and bravery. 
He had established, too, a character for honor and truth 
that was above suspicion and known to the whole Amer- 
ican people. 

I remember to have read somewhere an account of a 
public dinner at which Hamilton and Burr were both 
present, only a few days before their fatal meeting. 
Hamilton was described as being calm and dignified. 
No one would have supposed that there was anything 
particular on his mind. He sang a song at the table 
and appeared to be in his usual spirits, whilst Burr 
appeared nervous and uneasy. Mrs. Hamilton lived 
fifty years after the death of her husband, and died when 
she was ninety-seven years old. They had six children. 

Hamilton shared in life the fate of all politicians and 
statesmen. He was idolized by his friends and partisans, 
and bitterly hated and denounced by his opponents and 
enemies. Jefferson did a great deal to blacken his 
character, as he stated in his letter to Bayard, urging 
the Federalists to vote for Jefferson. Hamilton no 
doubt said some hard things of Jefferson. But the 
good opinion of Washington should have more influ- 
ence in forming our opinion of Hamilton than all that 
his political opponents have said against him. 

I remember once, reading in Jefferson's works, a 



296 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

remark of Hamilton's, which was thought to be very 
odious, and which I thought at the time contained a 
great deal of truth. Adams remarked that the British 
Government, purged of its rotten boroughs and their 
corruption would do very well. Hamilton replied that 
it did better without this purging, or something to that 
effect. The truth was that a great deal of the talent in 
the House of Commons came from these rotten boroughs. 
Young men of promise were sent from these rotten bor- 
oughs who could not get into Parliament otherwise. 

A writer says very truly that friends and foes united 
in awarding Hamilton the greatest ability as a public 
writer, as a Cabinet Minister, as a public speaker and as 
a lawyer. The following description of his person has 
been given by the same writer: "He was under the 
middle size, thin in person and very erect, courtly and 
dignified in his bearing. His figure though slight, 
was well-proportioned and graceful. His complexion 
was very delicate and fair, his cheeks rosy and the whole 
expression pleasing and cheerful. His voice was musical, 
his manner frank and cordial. He excelled equally as 
a writer and speaker." 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

There is no grander character in all history, ancient 
or modern, than George Washington, coratnander-in- 
chief of the American forces during the Revolutionary 
war, and first President of the Republic of the United 
States. There may have been many who possessed 
more genius and learning than " the Father of his 
country, " but there were none, no not one, who sur- 
passed him in wisdom and unselfish ambition, or virtue 
and patriotism. He was indeed a noble character, sur- 
passing all the military chieftains of Greece and Rome r 
or modern Europe, in the higher and nobler qualities 
of human nature. There have been statesmen more 
philosophical and profound than Washington, but none 
of them possessed in so eminent a degree as he did that 
purity and practical good sense, which are the basis of 
all wise statesmanship. This is the estimate of this 
great man's character, not only in America but in every 
kingdom of Europe. 

It is well known, however, that at the close of the 
Revolutionary war, when General Armstrong wrote his 
Newberg address to the soldiers of the Continental 
army, Washington could have seized imperial power, 
and made himself a throne in the United States. But 
instead of doing so he hastened to Annapolis, where 
Congress had assembled, and resigned his commission 
as commander-in-chief of their armies. How different 
from Caesar and Napoleon, Cromwell and Alexander,, 
and all the other great conquerors and generals of the 
world. Instead of seizing the sceptre of the Republic, 
although he doubted the ability of the people to govern 
themselves, he said he would lay down his life to test 
297 



298 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

the experiment which they were making. A fair trial 
was given, and he lived to see the glorious results. 

Washington Irving, the great biographer of George 
Washington, has traced his family in England through 
a long line of illustrious ancestors, up to the century 
immediately succeeding the Norman conquest. William 
de Hertburn was the progenitor of the Washington 
family in England about the year 1180, seven hundred 
years since. He w T as a Norman, and took his name 
from the village of Hertburn, on the palatinate, which 
he held of the Bishop in knight's fee. This possession 
he afterwards exchanged for the manor and village of 
Wessington. This old Saxon name was changed to 
Wasington, and finally to that of Washington. Sir 
William Washington married the sister of the Duke of 
Buckingham, the favorite of Charles First, and owing 
to this connection the Washingtons took sides with the 
King in the civil war and great rebellion of England. 
In order to escape the vengeance of Cromwell, John and 
Andrew Washington, two brothers, came to America 
and settled in Virginia, which was a favorite place of 
refuge for the cavaliers of England during the Pro- 
tectorate of Oliver Cromwell. They arrived in Virginia 
in 1657, and purchased lands in Westmoreland County. 
John married Miss Annie Pope, and became an extensive 
planter. His grandson, Augustine Washington, was the 
father of General George Washington. He was twice 
married, first to Miss Jane Butler, and secondly to Miss 
Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington. She 
was a most beautiful and intellectual young lady, and 
said to have been the belle of that region of country. 
He had, by his first wife, four children, and by his last, 
four sons and two daughters, of whom George was the 
eldest, born February 22, 1732, at the family residence 
of his great-grandfather, on Bridges Creek where it 
empties into the Potomac. 

The only education which George Washington received 
was at an " old field school." He never attempted to 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 299 

learn the languages. His brother Lawrence was sent to 
England and there received a finished education, returned 
Lome and married the daughter of the Hon. William 
Fairfax, the cousin of Lord Fairfax. His father died 
when George was 'only eleven years old, and this sad 
event interfered with his education abroad. He was 
left entirely under the charge of his mother, who was 
a very strict disciplinarian. From this mother his 
biographer says he inherited his high temper, which, 
however, he controlled through life. He also inherited 
from her his love of truth, independence of character, 
and high moral virtues. Whilst a boy he was fond of 
all athletic sports, such as running, leaping, wrestling, 
pitching quoits, etc. He was of a muscular frame and 
excelled in horsemanship. His half-brother Lawrence 
had raised a regiment and served in the West Indies 
under Admiral Vernon. His conversations with George 
on his return home inspired him with military ardor, 
which he displayed at school as captain of his playmates. 
When fifteen years old he obtained a midshipman's 
commission in the English navy, and was about setting 
sail for the West Indies when his mother revoked her 
consent and induced him to remain at home. He then 
turned his attention to surveying, and spent a great deal 
of his time at Mount Vernon in the family of his half- 
brother Lawrence. 

About this time, when he was about sixteen or seven- 
teen years old, he seems to have been desperately in love 
with his " Lowland Beauty." He composed some 
"homespun poetry," which he addressed to her. In his 
letters to his young companions he tells of his grief and 
pain and despair. He found in the family of William 
Fairfax, a most lovely and interesting young lady, Miss 
Carey, the sister of Colonel George Fairfax's wife. But 
he says he was afraid to cultivate her acquaintance, as it 
would only remind him of his "Lowland Beauty," and 
renew his grief. It is rather odd to think of the grand 
and stately commander-in-chief of the American forces, 



300 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

with all his dignity and austerity, having been a love- 
sick swain, writing " homespun poetry " to his flame, 
and confessing to his companions his love, his grief and 
despair. But Washington was a man of strong feelings 
and ardent temperament, pure and- natural in all his 
conceptions and actions. Such a man is liable to become 
the very soul of love. His " Lowland Beauty " was a 
Miss Grimes of Westmoreland, and afterwards the 
mother of General Henry Lee, the father of General 
Robert E. Lee of the Confederate army. This son of 
his " Lowland Beauty " was a great favorite of Wash- 
ington's in the army and through life on account of his 
remembrance of his love for the mother, as well as for 
the son's high moral character and gallant services. 
Verifying the poet's expression that the heart that once 
truly loves can never forget. 

Washington spent two or three years at Mount Ver- 
non, in the family of William Fairfax and occa- 
sionally in that of Lord Fairfax, whilst he was survey- 
ing his immense landed estate. There is no doubt that 
this association in early life, with the proud aristocracy 
of England had something to do in forming his dignified 
character and austere manners in manhood. His brother 
Lawrence was also a highly accomplished gentleman. 
Lord Fairfax was a literary character and had written 
several numbers of Addison's Spectator. He was 
engaged to be married to a beautiful and high-born lady 
in England, the day appointed for the wedding and the 
company invited, when his betrothed abandoned him 
for a Ducal Coronet. This was such a mortification to 
his Lordship that he determined to abandon civilization 
and flee to America, where he had inherited, through his 
mother, who was a sister to Lord Culpepper, one of the 
first Governors of Virginia, an extensive landed estate. 
He brought with him a fine library, and, after spending 
some time with his cousin, William Fairfax, at Bellvoir 
near Mount Vernon, he settled in the Shenandoah Val- 
ley, at a place called Green Court, and spent his time in 
hunting and reading. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 301 

The health of Lawrence Washington becoming very- 
feeble he went to the West Indies and took with him 
his half-brother George. This was the only time that 
Washington was ever ont of the United States. Law- 
rence died soon after his return to Virginia, leaving a 
widow and daughter, and by his will gave all of his 
estate to George in case his daughter died in infancy. 
The widow and daughter both died soon afterwards, and 
George took possession of Mount Vernon and purchased 
a good deal of lands adjoining. He also added wings 
to the house which was originally a very small and 
plain building. It still had the appearance of a very 
humble mansion for so great a man, in 1867, when I 
had the pleasure of seeing it, and spending a day and 
night there. Everything was out of repair, the lawn, 
the garden and outbuildings, were all neglected. There 
was no portico or piazza to the front of the house, but a 
long piazza in the rear which commanded a magnificent 
view of the Potomac river, and vessels sailing on it. 
The bed-chamber of Washington, from which you can 
see miles down the river, was kept open for visitors to 
look at, and likewise the large dining-room added by 
the General. The beautiful Italian marble mantel-piece 
in this room had been barbarously mutilated by visitors 
who had taken pieces of it to carry home and show as 
relics. Such is the morality of civilized human nature. 
The key of the Bastile in Paris was hanging over the 
mantel-piece, protected by wire from being stolen or 
carried oif. It was presented to Washington when the 
Bastile was destroyed. 

Washington spent three years in surveying the wild 
lands of Lord Fairfax, and was a most accurate surveyor. 
He was accurate and systematic in everything through- 
out his whole life, public and private. And this was 
one cause of his great success. He taught himself early 
in life to submit to any hardship or deprivation. In a 
letter written to a friend whilst making his survey he says : 
"Since October last I have not slept above three or four 



302 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

nights abed; but after walking a good deal all the day,. 
I have lain down before the tire on a little hay, straw, 
fodder or bear skin, whichever was to be had, with man, 
wife and children, like dogs and eats, and happy is he 
who gets the berth nearest the fire." 

When Washington was only nineteen he was commis- 
sioned as major and sent with a small force to look after 
the French on the Ohio. He captured the Fort 
Duquesne. The commander, Tremonsville, and ten of 
his men, were killed and twenty-two taken prisoners 
and sent to Williamsburg. He was promoted to the 
rank of colonel and had a force of four hundred men. 
In the meantime the French forces had been increased 
and attacked him in Fort Necessity. He had to capitu- 
late but on the most favorable terms, and retired with 
his command to Virginia. In what is known as " Brad- 
dock's war," he acted as aid to the General, and after 
his disastrous defeat by the Indians, Washington saved 
the remnant of his army. 

In February, 1756, Washington made a hurried visit 
to General Sherley, in Boston, who had been appointed 
commander-in-chief of all the British forces. His 
object was to have settled a question of precedence 
between officers commanding Provincial forces, and 
those commissioned by the Crown. On his way to and 
from Boston, he was the guest of Beverly Robinson in 
New York, who had been his school-fellow in their 
younger days. He was the brother of the Speaker of 
the House of Burgesses in Virginia, who made the 
memorable remark : " Sit down, Colonel Washington, your 
courage is only equaled by your modesty." This was 
said when Washington was attempting to return thanks 
to the House for their complimentary resolutions, and 
became so confused that he could not proceed. At the 
house of Mr. Beverly Robinson he became acquainted 
with his sister-in-law, Miss Mary Phillipse, whose 
great personal charms made a conquest of his heart. 
Five or six years had elapsed since his unfortunate love- 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 303 

scrape with the " Lowland Beauty." But again he was 
destined to be disappointed. His brother aid at Brad- 
dock's defeat,Colonel Morris,became his rival and the hus- 
band of the young lady. In 1758, two years afterwards, 
he became engaged to his wife, Mrs. Martha Custis, 
daughter of Colonel Dandridge. She was about twenty- 
five years old and had four children, but still handsome 
and interesting. I have heard of another love affair of 
Washington's with Miss Bird, of Virginia. It would 
seem from all this that he was not insensible to female 
charms, and the young ladies whom he addressed were 
not conscious of his future greatness, or his addresses 
would not have been rejected. 

Washington was for several years after his marriage 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1774 
he was appointed a delegate to the first Continental 
Congress, and in 1775 was, on motion of John Adams, 
appointed commander-in-chief of all the Colonial and 
Continental forces. This was soon after the battle of 
Bunker's Hill. He immediately proceeded to Boston 
and took command of the army there. On the evacua- 
tion of Boston by the British, he marched his army to 
New York. But it is impossible in a sketch of this 
character to follow him through a seven years' war and 
give an account of his battles. No General ever showed 
more perseverance, patriotism and wisdom, and firmness 
under the most trying and distressing circumstances. 
In the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge, his army was 
reduced to about three thousand half-clad and half- 
starved soldiers, whose tracks in the snow were traced 
by the blood of their bare feet. The British army which 
he had to oppose, consisted of fifteen or twenty thousand 
well-disciplined troops, and supplied with all the neces- 
saries of an army. Intrigues and plots in Congress and 
in the army were formed against him. General Gates 
after his success at Saratoga, attempted to undermine 
his popularity ; and GeneralLee, at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, was strongly suspected of playing false to him. 



304 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Chancellor De Saussure told me many years ago the 
following anecdote relative to Washington and Lee at 
the battle of Monmouth. There was an old officer of 
Washington's who was devoted to him and said he was 
a model man in every respect. This officer was habitu- 
ally profane in his language in conversation. Long 
after the war was over a friend thought to rebuke him 
for hisprofanity,and said, "you never heard Washington 
^urse or swear." The old officer hesitated a moment, and 
replied, " never but once, sir. That was at the battle of 
Monmouth, and I never heard good cursing before or 
since; he swore like an angel." This was a burst of 
passion at General Lee for not bringing up his com- 
mand in time to take part in the battle. General Lafay- 
ette said he called Lee "a damned paltroon." Another 
version is that Washington dashed up to Lee, and using 
emphatic language, inquired why he had not brought 
up his division sooner. Lee replied he did not think 
it prudent. Washington, with an insinuation of coward- 
ice, remarked : "you have been extremely prudent, Gen- 
eral Lee." Thereupon Lee straightened himself up, and 
replied, " I know of no one, sir, who possesses more of 
that rascally virtue than your Excellency." It was not 
<eo ward ice on the part of General Lee, but treachery. 
He thought by delay Washington would have to retreat 
and then he would come in and gain all the credit of 
the victory. General Charles Lee was an English 
officer and appointed second in command to Washington. 
Factssince developed show that he was a traitor through- 
out the war till he was suspended of his command by 
a court martial. On hearing the sentence of the court, 
he said, " I wish I was a dog so that I could not call 
man my brother." 

During the whole war Washington returned home 
but once. If his example had been followed by every 
officer and soldier in the Confederate army results 
might have been different. After the close of the war 
W'ashington retired to Mount Vernon, and for five or 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 305 

six years enjoyed the peace and quiet of domestic hap- 
piness. He always took a great interest in agriculture 
and the improvement of his farm. The Commissioners 
of Maryland and Virginia met to arrange about the 
boundary of the two States, and after they had transacted 
their business they paid a visit to Mount Vernon, and 
it was there decided, with the consent of Washington, 
that a convention of the States should be called to 
amend the Articles of Confederation. Five States sent 
delegates for this purpose, who met at Annapolis, and 
proposed that all the States should send delegates to 
meet in New York. Washington consented to be a 
member of this convention, and was unanimously elected 
President of it. No doubt his name attached to the 
Federal Constitution gave it great consideration with 
the people. There was great opposition to the adoption 
of the Federal Constitution in all of the States. The 
people thought it was encroaching on the rights of the 
States, and would end in a monarchy. 

When adopted there was no division as to who should 
be the President. Washington was unanimously elected 
and with great reluctance consented to serve. Patriotic 
motives alone induced him to continue in the office a 
second term. He selected a very able cabinet. Jeffer- 
son, who had more learning, democracy, tact and 
diplomacy than any one else, was appointed Secretary 
of State. Alexander Hamilton, who had more intel- 
lectual ability and conservatism than all others, was 
placed at the head of the Treasury Department. 
General Knox, an officer of genius and experience, was 
appointed Secretary of War. Edmund Randolph, a 
great lawyer, orator and statesman, was Attorney- 
General. In his cabinet he would always ask the 
opinion of each member, and then make up his own 
decision. It was said that Jefferson would try to 
impress his own opinions on the members of his 
cabinet. 

It would seem that Washington's life was a most 



306 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

glorious and happy one. But he was known to say- 
that he would not be willing to live his life over again. 
Franklin said he would be, if permitted to make some 
corrections in the second edition. What corrections 
were there for Washington to make in his pure, moral 
and patriotic life ? • He is said to have been a sincere 
Christian and communicant of the Episcopal Church. 
He died in the sixty-eighth year of his life, in December, 
1799. I have no doubt he was killed by his physicians. 
They bled him to death to stop a cold. He said to Dr. 
Craik, " I die hard, but I am not afraid to go." To 
Mr. Lear, his private secretary, he said, " I am going,, 
have me decently buried, and do not let my body be 
put into the vault till three days after I am dead." He 
inquired of Mr. Lear if he understood him, and on 
being assured he did, he said, " it is well" These were 
his last words. He died without a struggle. 

The following description is given of his person : 
" In stature he was six feet two inches high, his person 
in youth spare, but well-proportioned, and never too 
stout for prompt and easy movement, his hair wa& 
brown, his eyes blue and far apart, his hands large, his 
arms uncommonly strong, the muscular development of 
his frame perfect. He was a bold, graceful horseman, 
and followed the hounds with eagerness and spirit. He 
was scrupulously attentive to the proprieties of dress 
and personal appearance. His manner was gracious 
and gentle, especially toward the young, with a certain 
military reserve in public circles. He was not voluble 
in conversation, nor yet unduly taciturn." He had no 
children, and emancipated all of his slaves at his death. 
He was as General Henry Lee said in his oration on 
his death, " First in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen ." His life and character are 
the admiration not only of America, but of Europe and 
the whole civilized world. 

Howdon's statue of Washington in the capital at 
Richmond is said to be the most accurate representation 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 307 

of him that we have. I have seen this statue several 
times and examined it closely. It does not seem to me 
to be a fair representation of his majestic form and 
intellectual features. The head is not large, and the 
forehead is retreating. The figure is altogether stiff 
and not graceful. The likenesses of Washington are 
very different, especially those taken when he was a 
young man, and those taken in after life. Those taken 
in old age are most commonly seen in engravings and 
books. His appearance when a young man is much 
more striking, according to his likenesses seen. The 
best engraving I have ever seen of Washington is that 
in Irving's Life of him. It comes up to my idea of 
the majesty and dignity of the man. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

This illustrious philosopher, statesman, patriot and 
philanthropist, is better known throughout the civilized 
worid than any other American, save perhaps Wash- 
ington, the hero and founder of the Republic. Frank- 
lin's experiments and discoveries in natural philosophy, 
and his useful inventions, induced the great Earl of Chat- 
ham to declare in the British Parliament that he ranked 
with Newton, Boyle, and the greatest names that had 
ever adorned philosophy. His useful inventions, simple 
experiments, and grand discoveries in science, have made 
his name familiar not only to the learned and scientific, 
but to the intelligent masses of mankind all over the 
world. The humblest peasant in Europe who never heard 
of Jefferson, Hamilton or Adams, knows Franklin by 
his experiments and discoveries in electricity, his light- 
ning rod, and his useful inventions. 

The early life of Franklin was written by himself, 
and is one of the best known and most interesting of all 
autobiographies. But his modesty prevented his con- 
tinuing his life after he had achieved his greatness. He 
was willing to tell the world of his humble origin, the 
poverty and difficulties of his early life, his laborious 
industry as a mechanic, his own errors and misfortunes. 
But that natural unobtrusive modesty, which always 
belongs to true greatness, would not permit him to tell 
the honors paid him and the fame awarded him as a 
patriot, statesman, philosopher and benefactor of man- 
kind. This was unfortunate so far as the reading world 
is concerned. Autobiography is the most interesting of 
all histories, and especially so of a great man. He 
knows his own life, of course, better than any one else, 
308 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 309 

and can give his history more correctly and more 
minutely. 

James Parton, however, has written a life of Benjamin 
Franklin, which, in a great measure, is a continuation of 
his early autobiography. This gentleman seems to have 
a wonderful talent for writing the lives of great men. 
His "Life of Andrew Jackson," in three volumes, his 
"Life and Times of Aaron Burr," and his "Life of 
Benjamin Franklin," in two volumes, are unsurpassed 
in interest as biographies. He has a knack, somehow, 
of making everything interesting that he tells or touches. 
We all know how differently the same facts or story 
told by different persons will impress our minds. Whilst 
one in his narrative thrills our hearts with the deepest 
interest, another may put us to sleep in telling the same 
story, or relating the same facts. Mr. Parton never lets 
the interest of his work abate from beginning to end. 
The reader does not wish to lay down the book till he 
finishes it. 

Mr. Parton not only has great tact in arranging his 
facts, and clothing them in beautiful language, but his 
research in hunting up and collecting his facts is worthy 
of all praise in one who undertakes to write the life of 
a great man. He has traced the family of Dr. Frank- 
lin in England for many generations through several 
centuries. The ancestors of the great American sage 
were blacksmiths for centuries, at Eaton, a small village 
sixty miles from London, in Northamptonshire, the cen- 
tral county of England. They were all worthy, indus- 
trious mechanics and sincere Protestants. They had a 
Bible concealed in a stool with a lid over it, and if any- 
one came whilst they were reading it, the lid was shut 
down and the good book concealed from the Catholics. 

It is a little remarkable that the ancestral family of 
George Washing-ton should have lived also for centuries 
in the same county and same neighborhood with that of 
Benjamin Franklin, before their removal to America. 
The Franklins were all adherents of Oliver Cromwell, 



310 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

whilst the Washingtons took sides with King Charles 
the first. In settling in America the two families showed 
their political and religious biases. Washington's great- 
grandfather being a Cavalier, sought refuge from the 
persecution of Cromwell in the Colony of Virginia, 
where the Church of England was the established reli- 
gion, and where the great Protector's authority was never 
recognized. In consequence of this, Virginia was dubbed 
" The Old Dominion," a title which she proudly boasts 
at the present day. The father of Franklin being a 
Puritan and "Round Head," sought religious freedom 
in Boston, Massachusetts, a town then about the size of 
Greenville, containing six thousand inhabitants. 

The accomplished biographer of Benjamin Franklin 
says : " The ancestors of the two men who were most 
influential upon the early fortunes of the United States, 
lived for several generations in the same county, North- 
amptonshire, the central county of England. But 
though the two families lived within a few miles of each 
other, they were separated by a social interval that was 
impassable. Washington, as Mr. Irving with such fond 
minuteness relates, was of gentle lineage. Knights, 
abbots, lords of the manor valiant, defenders of cities 
and partakers of the spoils of conquest, have the name of 
Washington, whose deeds and honors are recorded in 
ancient parchment, upon memorial brass and monu- 
mental stone. Franklin, on the coutrary,came of a long 
line of village blacksmiths. A Franklin may have 
tightened a rivet in the armor or replaced a shoe upon 
the horse of a Washington, or doffed his cap to a Wash- 
ington riding past the ancestral forge; but until Post- 
master Franklin met Colonel Washington in the camp 
of General Braddock, in 1755, the two races had run 
their several ways without communion." What an 
expressive commentary is this upon monarchical and 
republican institutions. 

The grandfather of Dr. Franklin, whose name was 
Thomas. Franklin, seems to have elevated his family 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 311 

•somewhat by the kindness and patronage of Squire Pal- 
mer, who lent them books, and no doubt fostered the 
talent which had lain dormant in the family for many 
years. His son Thomas, uncle of Dr. Franklin, learned 
the blacksmith's trade in his father's shop, but aided by 
Squire Palmer, he became a conveyancer, "something of 
a lawyer, clerk of the county court, and clerk to the 
Archdeacon, a very leading man in county affairs, and. 
much employed in public business." John, Benjamin 
and Josiah, the other sons of Thomas the elder, became 
dyers and abandoned the anvil and hammer. Josiah 
was the father of Dr. Franklin, and was born in 1655. 
He married in Banburg, where he had learned the trade 
of dyer. In 1685, Josiah Franklin bade farewell to 
England and came with his wife and three children to 
America. Finding no employment as a dyer, he set up 
in business as a tallow chandler and soap boiler. It is 
said that a moderate prosperity rewarded his diligence 
and skill in Boston. His English wife died after giving 
birth to seven children, leaving him a widower of thirty- 
five, with six living children. He was good looking, 
intelligent, and thrifty, and made haste before the year 
was out to marry Abiah Folger, then twenty-two years 
old. She became the mother of Dr. Benjamin Franklin 
and nine other children. Her father "Peter Folger 
was," says Mr. Parton, "worthy of being called the 
grandfather of Dr. Franklin." A cotemporary describes 
him as " a learned and godly Englishman." He wrote 
poetry, and was opposed to the shameful iniquity of per- 
secuting Baptists and Quakers for opinion's sake. His 
grandson Benjamin used to quote his poetry on this 
subject and boast of his liberal principles. We do not 
get much information from any source relative to Frank- 
lin's mother, but there is no doubt she was a woman of 
remarkable natural abilities and strong character. She 
could not otherwise have given birth to such a son. 
History records no instance of a great man being born 
of an ordinary mother. 



312 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

There is an amusing story told of Franklin's return- 
ing to his mother after an absence of many years, to 
test the natural love or storgee of the Greeks for one's 
offspring. He did not make himself known to his 
mother and she treated him with great coldness, express- 
ing an opinion that he was a suspicious character, and 
that she did not like his looks. This satisfied Franklin 
that there was no instinctive love of offspring. The 
storgee of the Greeks was a poetical fiction. This story 
is universally believed, but his biographer says there is 
not a word of truth in it. 

There is another coincidence between Washington and 
Franklin worthy of notice. Their ancestors not only 
lived in the same neighborhood in England for centuries, 
and emigrated to America about the same time, but 
they, Franklin and Washington, were both sons of a 
second marriage of elderly fathers to young mothers. 
Both sons lost the counsel and advice of their fathers in 
early youth. In Washington's case his father died 
when he was only ten or twelve years old. Franklin 
ran away from his father whilst he was in his teens and 
came to Philadelphia to seek his fortune. Neither 
father nor mother exercised any influence over him. 
But it is said that Washington's mother after the death 
of his father, held a tight rein over him, and used to 
chastise him when he was fifteen or sixteen years old. 
In those days parents did not, in the language of scrip- 
ture, "spare the rod and spoil the child." 

Benjamin Franklin was born January 6th, 1706, 
and was the eighth child of his mother and the fifteenth 
of his father. He had two sisters born after him. One 
of them, Jane, was the pet and beauty of the family. 
She was his favorite sister and affectionate correspondent 
for sixty years. In one of his letters to her whilst in 
Philadelphia, after an absence of many years, he writes 
her that he had understood she had grown to be a great 
beauty and was quite a belle in Boston. He had been 
thinking of a suitable present to make and was somewhat 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 313' 

embarrassed to decide what it should be. Finally he 
had concluded to send her a spinning-wheel and a pair 
of cards. He said they might be useful although they 
were not ornamental. What would a modern belle 
think of receiving such a present from a brother at the 
present time. But in those days there were no spinning 
jennies and cotton factories. Homespun was worn as 
an every-day dress by even beauties and belles. Times 
have changed. But Franklin may have written the 
letter to his sister as a joke, and probably did. He was,, 
however, through life, a great utilitarian, and scorned 
all extravagance and ostentation. Great men always do.. 

The education of Franklin was very limited, and he 
was taken from school at ten years, to assist his father 
in making candles and boiling soap. At one time his 
father intended to educate him for the ministry. He 
had shown a remarkable aptitude for learning when a 
very small boy, and always stood at the head of his 
class. It is doubtful if his father's wishes had been 
carried out, whether he would have been as distinguished 
in the Church as he was in philosophy and diplomacy. 
His mind does not seem ever to have had a very reli- 
gious turn. 

The trade of a tallow chandler and soap boiler did not 
suit Benjamin, and his father took him around to seethe 
other trades in Boston. At length it was determined to 
bind him as an apprentice to his brother, Avho was a 
printer and editor of a newspaper. This suited his 
genius much better and gave him an opportunity of 
reading. He proposed to his brother to allow him one- 
half of what he was paying for his board and he would 
board himself. This arrangement was made, and 
instead of going to dinner Benjamin would get himself 
a slice of bread, a cup of water and a handful of raisins-. 
He would stay in the office and read whilst the others 
were gone for their dinners. About this time he came 
to the conclusion that it was a sin to make flesh a part 
of our food. He did not think it right for one animal 



314 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

to eat another. Both were equally entitled to life, as 
the gift of nature and God. But on seeing a large fish 
opened, which had been feasting on the small fry, he 
concluded that if one fish was permitted to eat another, 
it was not against nature's laws for him to eat another 
animal. From that time he always ate as other people 
did. He was also at this time a great temperance man 
and eschewed not only spirituous liquors, but beer, ale, 
wine, etc. He proved to the London printers that he 
was much stronger than they were, although they used 
stimulants and he did not. In after life, however, he 
abandoned his notions about drinking as he had done in 
youth about not eating flesh. 

The reading of Franklin whilst an apprentice was 
very extensive, and he also tried his hand at poetry. 
His father put a stop to his writing doggerel rhyme, 
and "thereby," said he, " I escaped being a poet." He 
and his brother had some difference and his brother 
beat him. He said this early subjection to tyranny 
made him quick in after life to resist arbitrary power. 
His indentures had been cancelled and he quit his 
brother. But not being able to get employment in 
Boston as a printer, he went to Philadelphia. Of his 
first entrance into the city of Brotherly Love he gives 
an amusing and ludicrous account in his autobiography. 
He was. very hungry and bought three loaves of bread. 
His pockets being filled with shirts and stockings, he put 
a loaf under each arm and commenced eating the third 
as he passed up Market street. Miss Read, his future 
wife, saw him as he passed her father's house and noticed 
his uncouth and eccentric appearance. He gave his 
bread to a poor woman, and walked into a Quaker 
meeting-house where he fell into a sound sleep. 

Franklin soon obtained work and engaged board at 
Mr. Read's, his future father-in-law. The Governor of 
the Province, Sir William Keith, read some of his letters, 
•called to see him and invited him to his house. His 
Excellency was so much pleased with his talents and 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 315 

attainments that he proposed setting him up in business 
for himself. Relying on the Governor's promises he 
started to England to purchase all the material for 
printing and publishing a newspaper. He was then 
eighteen years old, and had engaged himself to marry Miss 
Read. On arriving in London he found the Governor 
had furnished no funds to purchase type, press, etc., and 
was not able to do so. He got employment, however, as 
a journeyman printer, fell into bad habits, neglected 
writing to Miss Read, and she, supposing herself aban- 
doned by Franklin, was induced to marry another man. 
In a short time she separated from her husband, having 
heard he had another wife living. He went off to the 
West Indies and was never heard of afterwards. 

Franklin remained in London eighteen months, and 
returned to Philadelphia. Miss Read was sad and 
broken-hearted, and he determined to make amends for 
his past mistreatment of her, and they were married 
the first of September, 1730. She made him an excellent 
wife, and they lived together most happily till her death, 
which occurred many years afterwards, whilst he was in 
London, and after he had acquired fortune and fame as 
one of the first philosophers of the age, and benefactors of 
mankind. They had but one child who lived to be 
grown. She married Mr. Bache and has numerous 
descendants now living in Philadelphia. His son, who 
was Governor of New Jersey, was illegitimate, and no 
one ever knew who his mother was, says his biographer. 
Franklin had brought him up and gave him a finished 
education. He, too, had an illegitimate son, William 
Temple Franklin, an accomplished young gentleman, 
who was his grandfather's private secretary, and remained 
steadfast to him and the independence of his country, 
when his father, the Governor of New Jersey, took sides 
with the British government and made himself very 
odious to the people and Congress. The name of 
Franklin is now extinct. The Governor was for many 
years a pensioner on the English government, and died 



316 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

without issue, except his illegitimate son, who also died 
without leaving children. 

There is no one who ever left the impress of his char- 
acter on a city more marked than Franklin did his on 
the city of Philadelphia. He effected improvements in 
the city watch and established a fire company. He was 
the founder of the University of Pennsylvania, and of 
the American Philosophical Society. He invented the 
economical stove which bears his name. He got up a 
subscription and established a public library in the city. 
In fact he was the originator of all Philadelphia's early 
improvements. 

In 1750 Franklin was elected a member of the Penn- 
sylvania Legislature, and appointed a commissioner for 
making an Indian treaty. In 1753 he was appointed 
deputy Postmaster-General for America. He was ap- 
pointed a delegate in 1756 to the general Congress at 
Albany. In that Congress he proposed a plan of union 
for the Colonies which was adopted, but afterwards 
rejected by both England and the Colonies. As Post- 
master-General it became his duty to assist in the march 
of JBraddock's army against the Indians. He met Gen- 
eral Braddock in Maryland and advised him against his 
expedition which proved so disastrous. After the defeat 
of Braddock he organized the militia for the defence of 
the Colony, and was appointed general of the army. 
This position he declined. 

He now pursued his experiments in electricity and 
made himself famous as a philosopher. Honors and 
medals, degrees and memberships of learned societies, 
were conferred on him. He was appointed agent for 
the Colonies of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland 
and Georgia, to represent their interests in England. 
He arrived in London July 27, 1757, and honors and 
compliments awaited him. Oxford and Edinburgh 
conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. The 
great and learned men of England sought his acquaint- 
ance. After remaining in England five years, and 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 317 

adjusting all the business of the Colonies, he returned 
home in 1762 and received their vote of thanks. But 
new troubles broke out between the Mother Country and 
her Colonies, and he was sent back again in 1764. The 
project of taxing the Colonies had been announced and 
he was indefatigable in showing its unconstitutionality. 
He was examined before the House of Commons on the 
subject of repealing the Stamp Act, and acquired great 
fame by his answers and explanations. It was said that 
his examination was like that of a parcel of school boys 
examining their teacher and master. He said loyalty 
had been the pride of the Americans. Thinking to catch 
him in squinting at treason, they enquired what then 
•was the pride of the Americans now? His reply was to 
wear their old clothes until they could make new ones. 

Nine years before the declaration of American Inde- 
pendence, Franklin saw that it would come and ought 
to come. He said whilst in England to his friends 
returning to America, "go home and get children. They 
will be needed for the defence of their country and her 
liberties." He hated tyranny and oppression in every 
form, and was always prompt and fearless in resisting 
them. " Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God" was 
his motto. Great efforts were made whilst he was in 
England to win him over to the government. They 
heaped honors and rewards on him, made his son Gov- 
ernor of New Jersey, appointed him Postmaster-General 
of America, and still he remained firm and true to his 
country. They complained of his ingratitude. He told 
them that he knew it was a maxim of their former prime 
minister, Sir Robert Walpole, that every man had his 
price. But, said he, " what would satisfy a mouse an 
elephant could not feel." Leaving them to infer that 
they had not yet given him enough. But they had 
sagacity to perceive that enough could never be given 
him. 

Franklin returned from England in May, 1775, and 
took his seat in the Continental Congress to which he 



318 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

had been elected in his absence. He was again appoint- 
ed a member of the Congress which declared American 
Independence, and signed the same. He had long pre- 
viously urged this Declaration of Independence. He was 
then sent as Commissioner to Paris, afterwards plenipo- 
tentiary and commissioner for negotiating peace. He 
signed the treaty by which Great Britain acknowledged 
the Independence of the United States. No one ever 
created a greater commotion in the social circles of Paris 
than Dr. Franklin. He did not return to Philadelphia 
till 1785. He was then elected President of Pennsyl- 
vania, and afterwards a member of the convention which 
framed the Federal Constitution. He died April 17, 
1790, and twenty thousand persons attended his funeral. 

In 1846 I visited Philadelphia for the first time, and 
whilst there I hunted up the house in which Franklin 
lived. It had been converted into a grocery, but seemed 
to be in good repair. I then went to his grave in 
the church yard. There was a broad marble slab cov- 
ering his and his wife's grave. Their names were cut 
on the slab. I thought how humble this monument to 
greatness was. But it was in character with the sim- 
plicity of Franklin. He wanted no monument to per- 
petuate his fame. The Latin line by a French statesman 
embodies it all, and is beautifully expressed — " Eripuit 
caelo fulmen, sep-trernque tyrannis." 

In his youth and early manhood Franklin was stout 
and athletic, with a handsome face, as represented in his 
likenesses. He was five feet ten inches high. His com- 
plexion was light and his eyes grey. In manners he 
was simple, affable and charming. He charmed all Paris 
with his manners and conversation. Whilst a journey- 
man printer in London, an old woman reduced his board 
two or three shillings on account of the pleasure she 
derived from his conversation. In the character of 
Washington there was grandeur and dignity. In the 
character of Franklin all was simplicity and affability. 
Washington inspired awe and admiration ; and Franklin 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 319 

love and respect. Washington would receive no com- 
pensation for all his public services, and presents made 
him by the State of Virginia, he gave as endowment to 
a college at Lexington, named after him. Franklin 
received compensation for his public services, and gave 
it as a fund to be loaned out to poor mechanics in Bos- 
ton and Philadelphia. 

There was a great fund of good humor in this old 
patriot and philosopher. He had a happy knack of 
illustrating his views by a story or anecdote, which was 
always apropos. Mr. Jefferson tells the following 
incident of Franklin when the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was under discussion in the Continental Con- 
gress. Mr. Jefferson, as chairman of the committee 
appointed to draw the Declaration of Independence, had 
submitted his draft to the committee, which was adopted 
by them and reported to the Congress. In the discus- 
sion of this declaration various amendments, alterations, 
and erasures were proposed. Jefferson was sitting near 
Franklin, and the old philosopher saw that he was in 
great torture. By way of consoling him Franklin told 
him the following story : John Smith, a hatter in 
Philadelphia, had a beautiful sign-board painted in the 
following words : " John Smith, hatter, makes and sells 
hats for cash." He showed his sign to a friend, who 
suggested that the word " hatter " was superfluous, as he 
stated that he made hats, consequently the word " hatter " 
was erased from the sign, which then stood — "John 
Smith makes and sells hats for cash." Another friend 
suggested that it was a matter of no consequence to the 
purchaser of a hat whether it was made by John 
Smith or any one else, consequently the word " makes" 
was stricken out, and the sign was, "John Smith sells 
hats for cash." A third friend suggested that no one 
expected to buy a hat on a credit, and therefore the 
words "for cash" were erased. The sign then read, 
" John Smith sells hats." Another friend, looking at 
the sign, said no one expects you to give him a hat, and 



•320 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

therefore the word "sells" was stricken out. After all 
these suggestions had been adopted the sign-board was 
simply, "John Smith, hats." Nothing was said about 
making or selling. 

After Braddock's defeat the Indians were committing 
great depredations on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, and 
Franklin, like a true patriot, as he was, organized a 
militia force to defend the Province. He had the honor 
of being appointed a general to command the forces 
thus raised. One day whilst in service, the chaplain 
came to him and complained that he could not get the 
soldiers to attend morning prayers, and wished Frank- 
lin to have them punished for neglect of duty. He 
very coolly heard the chaplain state his grievance and 
propose his remedy, and said he did not like to punish 
bis soldiers if they could be induced otherwise to per- 
form their duty. He then requested the chaplain to 
give notice that the rations of rum would be dealt out to 
the soldiers the next morning immediately after prayers. 
In the evening the chaplain told Franklin that his 
suggestion had been adopted, and that it had worked 
like a charm. There was not a man missing that 
morning at prayers. All were attentive and devout. 

Franklin did not like to see anything commenced and 
not completed, nor did he like to see a work half done 
through laziness. In order to illustrate his notion on this 
subject he told the story about" the speckled axe." A lazy 
fellow once asked the blacksmith if he could not make 
the whole axe bright like the edge? " Oh, yes," said 
the smith, "if you will turn the grindstone I will make 
the sides as bright as the edge." The fellow commenced 
turning, and the blacksmith put the side of the axe on 
the grindstone and bore down very hard on it. After 
a while the lazy fellow got tired of turning the grind- 
stone and proposed to stop. The blacksmith told him 
that the axe was now speckled and not bright. The 
fellow replied that he believed he liked a speckled axe 
better than a bright one. Franklin said it was so with 
the world, a majority of mankind liked " speckled axes." 



BENJAMIN PEANKLIN. 321 

Whilst Franklin was agent for the colonies and 
resisting the right of Great Britain to tax them without 
representation, the government replied that the colonies 
were all settled by English subjects, and of course the 
mother country had a right to nake them pay taxes. 
In order to show the absurdity of this alleged right, 
Franklin caused to be published one morning in the 
London papers a proclamation which he had drawn for 
the King of Prussia. This paper set forth that England 
had been settled by the Saxons, and as Prussia was the 
mother country, she had a right to tax the people of 
England. This fictitious proclamation was drawn with 
all the formality possible. It stated that neither King 
Frederick nor his ancestors had heretofore exercised this 
right ; but that Prussia had lately expended large sums 
in defending Great Britain against France, and she 
ought to defray as a colony of Prussia the expenses of 
the war. 

Franklin says he was sitting with a parcel of gentle- 
men the morning this proclamation made its appearance, 
and a member of the club who was always anxious to 
be the first to tell the news, came running into the room 
and said : " Most extraordinary news this morning. 
Prussia has issued a proclamation levying a tax on 
England." All seemed astounded, and asked for it to 
be read. Franklin appeared to be as much astonished 
as the rest of them. But before the proclamation was 
read through, one of the gentlemen looked at Franklin 
and said : " This is some of your American humor." 

When Franklin had formed a treaty of alliance be- 
tween the United States and France, he had to present 
himself at the French Court as the American Minister. 
The court costume required a wig well powdered. He 
engaged one to be made, which was brought home the 
evening of his presentation. The wig maker tried to 
fit it on his head but could not. At last Franklin sug- 
gested that it was too small. " No, sir," said the man, 
" the wig is not too small, but your head is too large." 



322 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

He finally gave up the wig and the court dress, and 
presented himself in a plain suit of black, which was 
greatly admired for its republican simplicity. He 
became the lion of the city of Paris, and was visited 
and admired by all the nobility and literati of France. 
When he and Voltaire met at some public gathering 
they were made to kiss and embrace each other amidst 
the applause of the multitude. 

The ladies, too, paid Franklin as much homage as the 
men. His fame as a philosopher and his republican 
simplicity made them all court him. Amongst these 
ladies there was an old duchess of large fortune, the 
widow of Helvetius, the philosopher, who seems to have 
fallen in love with him in his seventy-sixth year. 
Franklin humored her with the following dream : He 
said he found himself in the other world, and in com- 
pany with the philosopher Helvetius. Franklin told 
him that he had seen a few days since his widow in 
Paris. Helvetius replied that he had now taken to 
himself another wife, whom he would introduce to him. 
"What was his surprise and amazement when he found 
this other wife of Helvetius to be no one else than his 
own wife, who had died ten or fifteen years since. He 
immediately claimed her as belonging to him. But she 
replied that she had lived with him forty or fifty years, 
had died, and was now married to Helvetius whom she 
loved very much, and could not separate from him. On 
awakening from his dream Franklin suggested that it 
would be right and proper for him to take Helvetius's 
widow to wife whilst they continued to live in this 
world. 

Mrs. John Adams met this old duchess, and was 
astonished at the lady's free ways. She says, "she 
entered the room with a careless, jaunty air ; upon see- 
ing ladies who were strangers to her, she bawled out: 
'Ah, raon dieu, where is Franklin ? Why did you not 
tell me there were ladies here? How do I look,' said 
she, taking hold of a chemise made of tiffany, which she 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 323 

had over a blue lute string, and which looked as much 
upon the decay as her beauty, for she was once a hand- 
some woman ; her hair was frizzed ; over it she had a 
small straw hat, with a dirty gause half handkerchief 
round it, and a bit of dirtier gause than ever my maids 
wore was bowed on behind. She had a black gause 
scarf thrown over her shoulders. She ran out of the 
room ; when she returned the Doctor entered at one 
door, she at the other, upon which she ran forward to 
him, caught him by the hand, ' Hold, Franklin,' then 
gave him a double kiss, one upon each cheek, and 
another upon his forehead. When we went into the 
room to dine she was placed between the Doctor and 
Mr. Adams. She carried on the chief conversation at 
dinner, frequently laying her hands on the Doctor, and 
sometimes spreading her arms upon the backs of both 
the gentlemen's chairs, then throwing her arm carelessly 
upon the Doctor's neck." 

Mrs. Adams's New England notions of propriety were 
greatly shocked, although Dr. Franklin had told her 
that this lady was a genuine French woman, and one 
of the best women in the world. She says but for this 
she would have taken her for one of the worst. " After 
dinner she threw herself upon a settee, where she showed 
more than her feet." I forbear to make further ex- 
tracts from Mrs. Adams's description of Madame Helve- 
tius, and I think she herself transcended New England 
decency in giving it even in a letter to a lady. 

Franklin was a great economist of time as well as of 
money. This feeling seemed to have been with him 
when a boy. His father was a New England Puritan, 
and said long graces at the table three times a day. 
When he was salting away his meat, Franklin suggested 
to his father that he might save a good deal of time if 
he would say grace over the whole of it at once. 

Whilst Franklin was clerk of the Pennsylvania 
Legislature, a very promising and talented young 
member whom Franklin did not know, made a speech 



324 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

against his re-election. This alarmed the young printer 
and philosopher in embryo, and he thought he would 
conciliate him. But instead of doing so by showing a 
favor to the young member, he sought a favor of him. 
Franklin " knew human nature as well as if he had 
made it," as my friend Colonel Irby once said to me in 
regard to himself. He knew that a man who does a 
favor is apt to remember it longer than the one who 
receives the favor. In other words, we are more apt to 
love those to whom we have been kind, than those who 
have been kind to us. Franklin therefore wrote him a 
polite note, requesting to borrow a rare book which he 
understood the young member had in his library. The 
book was lent, read, and returned with many thanks. 
This induced the member to speak to Franklin when 
they met, and they became intimate and strong friends 
through life. How much better was all this than for 
Franklin to have resented the young member's opposi- 
tion to him and been enemies through life? 

The Americans in Paris, who were associated with 
Franklin as commissioners, ministers, etc., were jealous 
of his overshadowing reputation, and some of them 
were offended with him because he would not advance 
money for their salaries, which Franklin thought he 
had no right to do. It is evident to one who reads 
John Adams's diary in Paris that he did not like to see 
the old philosopher placed so much above himself. 
Izard, Pringle, and Bee of South Carolina were his 
open enemies. This induced Mrs. Bache, Franklin's 
daughter, to say one day that she hated all South Caro- 
linians from B to Izard. 

The labors of Franklin as American Commissioner 
and Embassador at the French Court were herculean 
and invaluable towards securing the independence of 
the United States, and providing money for the prosecu- 
tion of the war. They may be said to have been almost 
as important as Washington's services in the army. He 
borrowed and procured for Congress millions of dollars, 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 325 

and his reputation and influence had much to do in 
forming an alliance with France and securing her 
acknowledgment of the independence of the colonies. 

Notwithstanding Franklin's sceptical notions on re- 
ligion, he was always a great favorite with the most 
distinguished clergymen of England and America. He 
and Whitfield were great friends ; and when Whitfield 
was getting up a subscription to found some charitable 
institution in Georgia, Franklin tried to persuade him 
that the institution should be located in Philadelphia. 
This proposition Whitfield refused, and Franklin de- 
termined not to give anything. But he went to hear 
Whitfield's sermon on the subject, and, after listening 
awhile, he thought when the hat was brought around 
he would throw in some coppers he had in his pocket. 
He listened awhile longer, and said to himself that he 
would give his silver change also. But before Whitfield 
had concluded, he determined to throw in his gold and 
empty his pockets. 

Some one asked Franklin one day what was the differ- 
ence between orthodoxy and heterodoxy ? He replied,. 
" orthodoxy is my doxy and heterodoxy is your doxy." 
A gentleman in Philadelphia submitted to Franklin a 
manuscript book against the Christian religion. Frank- 
lin advised him to burn it, and said that the people 
were bad enough with religion, and would be a great 
deal worse without it. He said he attended church at 
one time very regularly, and heard so much dogmatism , 
so much about faith and election and creeds, and so> 
little about the practical duties of life, virtue, moral ity r 
charity, and doing good to our fellow-creatures, that he 
ceased to attend church altogether, but paid all denomi- 
nations. Whilst in England he wrote his daughter that 
she must be constant in her attendance at church, and 
advised her to go to the Episcopal Church, for whose 
service he had great admiration. He formed for his 
own worship a service very similar to that of the Epis- 
copal Church, and this service he repeated to himself 



326 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

very often in private. He likewise kept a table or memo- 
randum, in which he inserted every day the faults or 
sins committed by him. He had it ruled off under 
different heads, and would make a dot for every offence 
under that head. If everybody were to pursue this 
course some would have a great many dots in the course 
of a year. 

In order to illustrate the wickedness of this world, 
he writes a story of a young angel being sent to the 
earth on some important business, with an old courier 
spirit as a guide. They happened to light where the 
fleets of Rodney and De Grasse were fighting. The 
angel said to the courier spirit, " You blundering block- 
head, instead of conducting me to the earth, you have 
brought me into hell." " No, sir," said the guide, 
u this is the earth, and those are men ; devils never treat 
one another so cruelly ; they have more humanity ! " 

One day some one was lecturing Franklin on the 
freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. Frank- 
lin said they were very good things, but the freedom of 
the cudgel ought to go with them. 

Whilst a very young man, editing a paper in Phila- 
delphia, he wrote and published a fictitious speech of 
Dolly Baker, indicted for bastardy in one of the New 
England States, which was brought up in judgment 
against him in after life. The speech is published in 
" Parton's Life of Franklin," and is nothing more than 
what a humorous young editor might have said for the 
amusement of his readers. The punishment of having 
a bastard child was being tied to the end of a cart and 
whipped through the streets. Dolly defends herself 
very well. She says that whilst she is brought into 
court to be ignominiously punished, her partner in the 
crime has been honored with a seat on the Bench. She 
does not think this just and equitable. If she had stopped 
here, all would have applauded the speech. But she 
goes on to say that she was only obeying the law of 
nature and the command of Scripture to multiply and 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 327 

replenish the earth. She was willing to have married 
her seducer, but he was not, and no one else had ever 
sought her hand in marriage. She therefore thought 
she was excusable in obeying the law of nature and the 
command of Scripture. 

When the Declaration of Independence was about 
being signed, John Hancock, the President of Congress, 
said: " We must be unanimous and all hang together." 
" Yes," said Franklin, " we must indeed hang together, 
or we shall all hang separately." The strongest evi- 
dence Franklin could give of his patriotism was shown, 
when he set out for France, shortly after the Declara- 
tion of Independence. He collected all of his money, 
amounting to fifteen thousand dollars, and invested it in 
Government funds. He was never penurious, although 
a great economist. He took pleasure in doing good 
with his money, instead of foolishly spending it in 
extravagance or luxury. He never would take out a 
patent for any of his useful inventions. His stove and 
his lightning rod would have realized him a princely 
fortune. 

Whilst in England before the war he got possession 
of Governor Hutchinson's infamous letter urging troops 
to be sent to Boston. These letters he enclosed to a 
friend in the Legislature of Massachusetts. They pro- 
duced a terrible hub-bub both in Old and New England. 
A gentleman charged another with having stolen them, 
and a duel ensued. It was about to be repeated, when 
Franklin came forward and avowed that he himself had 
sent the letters. This brought him before the Privy 
Council of England, and his commission of Postmaster- 
General of America was taken from him. Wedderburn, 
the Attorney-General, abused him most shamefully; 
called him a man of three letters — per — a thief. Frank- 
lin was at that time dressed in a black velvet coat. 
When he was going to sign his name to the treaty be- 
tween Great Britain, France, and the United States, he 
retired to his dressing-room and put on that same old 



328 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

black coat, and then sat down and signed his name as 
American Minister to the treaty which acknowledged 
the independence of his country by Great Britain. 

Whilst in London he uncorked a bottle of wine which 
had been sent him from America. Several of his friends 
were present, and in the bottle were three flies. He took 
them out and put them in the sun. Two of the flies 
came to life and flew off, the third did not revive. This 
made Franklin express the wish that he could be put in 
a pipe of wine, kept a hundred years, and then brought 
to life again, so that he might see what improvements 
had been made in his country during that time. What 
a glorious treat it would be to the old patriot to revisit 
America now, after the lapse of almost a century since 
his death. How amazed he would be to see the tele- 
graph in operation, the steamboats running, the telephone 
operating, the great telescope of Herschel bringing to 
view new planets, the wonderful improvements in print- 
ing, the increase of our population from three millions 
to forty millions, the extension of the Republic from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, the towns and cities which have 
sprung up with their hundreds of thousands of inhab- 
itants, where all was a vast wilderness when his spirit 
left this earth. How pleased, too, would the old philoso- 
pher be to see the descendants of his only child now 
numbering one hundred and fifty. This wonderful 
increase of his own progeny would forcibly remind him 
of his witticism to Lord Howe when his lordship said : 
" America can confer upon Great Britain more solid 
advantages than money — it is her commerce, her strength, 
her men that we chiefly want." " By my Lord," said 
Franklin, "we have in America a considerable manu- 
factory of men." He would certainly think the Ameri- 
cans had followed his advice when he said to some 
friends returning to America before the Revolutionary 
war, " Go home and tell the people to get children as 
fast as they can, so that we may be strong enough to 
resist the tyranny and oppression of Great Britain." 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

This eminent statesman and diplomatist was, perhaps, 
the most accomplished orator and lawyer that America 
has ever produced. In a sketch of him in the National 
Portrait Gallery, the writer says: "Mr. Pinkney's 
mind was of the highest cast of intellectual power, solid 
as well as brilliant; combining the fruits of laborious 
industry, with extraordinary natural talents. Endowed 
with something of the enlarged philosophy, the exube- 
rant metaphor, and the gorgeous rhetoric of Burke, the 
chaste and proud sentiments of Canning, the lofty and 
impassioned declamation of the younger Pitt, the bril- 
liant illustration of Sheridan, the ardent enthusiasm of 
Fox, and the rapid elegance of Erskine, the eloquence 
of Mr. Pinkney was founded upon his own model, and 
abounded probably with more advantages than that of 
any of the orators we have mentioned." 

I remember when I was a boy at school, at Ashe vi lie, 
hearing Governor Swain read a speech of John Ran- 
dolph, announcing the death of William Pinkney, a 
senator from Maryland, in the House of Representatives 
of the United States. His eulogy was most glowing 
and unmeasured in extolling his learning, his eloquence, 
his statesmanship and high character. If I mistake 
not, he pronounced him the greatest of all American 
orators, and the most learned and accomplished of her 
lawyers. 

Mr. Pinkney had spent ten or fifteen years in Eng- 
land as commissioner and plenipotentiary at the court 
of St. James, and during all that time he was most 
laboriously engaged in perfecting himself in his pro- 
fession as a lawyer and orator. He was a constant 
attendant on all the great debates in the British Parlia- 
3 2 9 



330 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

ment, and observed closely the characteristics of all the 
distinguished speakers in both Houses. His education 
had been defective in early life, but he made himself, 
whilst in England, an accomplished scholar, learned in 
Latin and the modern languages. 

The father of William Pinkney was an Englishman, 
settled in Maryland some years before the Revolutionary 
war, and adhered to the Royal Government in that strug- 
gle. His property was all confiscated, and he was left very 
poor, with a large family to support. Consequently he 
could not give his sons a collegiate education. But, 
like Franklin and thousands of others of the greatest 
men of the world, William Pinkney educated himself. 
His family was an old one in England, and came over 
with William the Conqueror from Normandy. The 
South Carolina Pinckneys, although they spell their 
name differently, are a branch of the same family. This 
was ascertained by General Pinckney whilst American 
minister at the court of St. James, and whilst Mr. Wil- 
liam Pinkney was at the same time in London as Ameri- 
can commissioner under Jay's Treaty. They both 
recognized their relationship. 

William Pinkney was born at Annapolis, Maryland, 
March 17th, 1764, and entered King William School, 
in his native town, where he remained till he was thir- 
teen years old. This was in the midst of the Revolu- 
tionary war, and young Pinkney's feelings were all on 
the side of his country, and differing with those of his 
father. His mother is said to have been a lady of very 
superior intellectual endowments. She died early, but 
her virtues, her training of her children, and her 
memory were cherished by her accomplished son through 
life with the tenderest affection. He likewise loved 
most ardently the place of his birth, and thought there 
was no place on earth equal to Annapolis. This was 
the feeling he frequently expressed in his letters whilst 
amid all the splendor, fashion, and gaiety of England. 
He seems to have had the organ of locality strongly 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 331 

•developed in his nature, as well as a warm and affeo- 
tionate heart. 

It is remarkable that William Pinkney, with all of 
his great talents, learning, eloquence, and statesmanship, 
•should have been an exquisite, priding himself on the 
scrupulous neatness and fit of his dress. A great mind 
is the rarest thing in the world to be associated with a 
fop, who is generally a trifling being, with neither 
learning nor talents. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, 
one of the greatest men of America, used to say that in 
all of his intercourse with the distinguished men of 
Europe and the United States, he had never known but 
three who were dandies or prided themselves on their 
dress. I have no doubt Mr. Pinkney was one of the 
three, and who the other two were I cannot imagine. 
Charles J. Fox did, at one period of his life, affect to be 
scrupulously neat in his dress. 

My old and revered friend, Judge Gantt, was a 
native of Maryland, and read law in William Pinkney's 
office. He told me a great deal about Pinkney, his 
appearance, dress, conversation, etc. The Judge said 
Pinkney was about his size, height, and make, and it 
was said they resembled each other very much. I 
should suppose from all the likenesses that I have seen 
of Mr. Pinkney that there was a resemblance between 
Judge Gantt and himself. Their persons stout and 
well built, their faces full and broad, and their features 
and expression of countenance were alike. In voice, 
too, they may have resembled each other. Pinkney's 
voice was sweet and melodious in an eminent degree. 
•Judge Gantt had a very fine voice and was eloquent at 
the Bar. 

We know very little of Mr. Pinkney's history till 
he commenced reading law with Judge Chase. He first 
commenced the study of medicine, but soon found that 
it was not congenial with his talents or nature. After 
his admission to the Bar, in 1786, he established himself 
in Harford county, and was elected a member of the 



332 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

State Convention in 1788, called for the purpose of rati- 
fying the Federal Constitution. " His first efforts at the 
Bar," says Wheaton, his biographer, " seem to have 
given him a commanding attitude in the eyes of the 
public. His style of speaking was very melodious, and 
seemed a most winning accompaniment to his pure and 
effective diction. His elocution was calm and placid — 
the very contrast of that strenuous, vehement, and em- 
phatic manner which he subsequently adopted." 

He was chosen a member of the House of Delegates 
of Maryland, in 1788, and continued to represent the 
county of Harford in that body till 1792. He married. 
a sister of Commodore Rodgers in 1789, and the next 
year was elected a member of Congress, but declined on 
account of professional duties. In 1792 he was a 
member of the executive council of Maryland. In 1796 
he was appointed by Washington one of the commis- 
sioners on the part of the United States under Jay's 
Treaty, and remained in London discharging the duties 
of that position till 1804. In 1805 he was appointed 
attorney-general of the State of Maryland. In 1806 he 
was appointed minister to England, and remained there 
in that capacity till 1811- On his return home he was 
elected a member of the State Senate, and appointed by 
Madison attorney-general of the United States. This 
office he resigned in 1813, when Congress passed an act 
requiring the attorney-general to reside in Washington. 
He had moved to Baltimore, and had a practice which 
he could not give up. When Maryland was invaded 
by the British army, he formed a volunteer company, 
and fought gallantly at Bladensburgh, where he was 
severely wounded. In 1816 he was appointed by Presi- 
dent Monroe minister plenipotentiary to Naples and 
Russia. In 1818 he returned home, and was elected to 
the United States Senate in 1820. There he made his 
immortal speech on the Missouri Compromise, the great- 
est speech ever delivered in the United States Senate. 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 333 

Governor Burton, of North Carolina, gave me an 
account of this speech forty years since. He said he was 
at that time a member of the House of Representatives 
in Congress. There was great anxiety to hear Pinkney, 
and the Senate chamber and galleries were crowded to 
excess. Governor Burton sat down on the carpet, the 
only seat he could get. He said the first part of Pink- 
ney's speech was entirely rhetorical and fanciful, and he 
thought to himself what a fool he was to be sitting in 
the middle of the Senate chamber on the carpet listening 
to such a speech. But soon afterwards Pinkney entered 
into the argument of the case, and he was thrilled and 
overwhelmed by his logip and eloquence. This great 
and wonderful speech is published in full in Pinkney's 
Life, by his nephew, the Rev. William Pinkney, D.D. 

In one of his letters to his brother, written whilst he 
was commissioner in London, he tells of his disappoint- 
ment in listening to Fox, Erskine, Grey, and Dundas. 
William Pitt was the only orator who came up to his 
expectations. John Quincy Adams was once asked by 
General Waddy Thompson who was the greatest orator 
he ever heard, and he replied, " William Pitt, immeasur- 
ably!" Pinkney says in this letter: "I have heard 
Mr. Fox on the most interesting and weighty subjects, 
without discovering that he is an orator. I have heard 
Mr. Grey on the same occasions, without thinking him 
above mediocrity. Mr. Pitt, indeed, has not disap- 
pointed me. He is truly a wonderful man. I never 
heard so clear and masterly a reasoner, or a more 
effectual disclaimer. I could sit forever to listen to Mr. 
Pitt. In argument he is beyond example, correct and 
perspicuous, and in declamation energetic and command- 
ing. His style might serve as a model of classical 
elegance. I have heard Mr. Erskine once, and thought 
nothing of him. But at the Bar he is said to be 
formidable and eloquent. Mr. Secretary Dundas is 
mediocre." 



334 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

Mr. Pinkney had contracted in early life the habit of 
chewing tobacco, and found it almost impossible to break 
himself of it. In the higher classes of society in Eng- 
land, the use of tobacco in any way was considered intol- 
erably vulgar and disgusting. It was disgraceful for it 
to be known that a gentleman chewed tobacco. He says 
when he did so, he took the precaution not only of retir- 
ing to a private room, but of locking the door, in order 
to keep it a secret from the servants. Finally he gave 
up chewing and commenced smoking, but still he had 
to do this in secret, or lose caste in genteel society. I 
heard a young gentleman say forty or fifty years ago 
that he was smoking a cigar as he walked along in Lon- 
don, and that he attracted as much attention as if he 
had been an elephant. Everybody stared at him and 
some even stopped to look at him. 

In writing from Russia Mr. Pinkney gives a sketch 
of the Emperor Alexander, his mother and his wife, 
which is really a gem. His description of the reigning 
Empress is beautiful : "She combines every charm that 
contributes to female loveliness with all the qualities 
that peculiarly become her exalted station. Her figure 
although thin, is exquisitely fine. Her countenance is a 
subduing picture of feeling and intelligence. Her voice 
is of that soft and happy tone that goes directly to the 
heart, and awakens every sentiment which a virtuous 
woman can be ambitious to excite. Her manner cannot 
be described or imagined. It is so graceful, so unaffect- 
edly gentle, so winning and yet so dignified, that (I had 
almost said) an angel might copy it and improve his 
own. Her conversation is suited to this noble exte- 
rior," etc., etc. 

I have said that William Pinkney was perhaps the 
most accomplished orator and lawyer that America had 
ever produced. In support of this opinion I will quote 
the judgment of others. Judge Story says: "His 
genius and eloquence were so lofty, I might almost say 
unrivalled, his learning so extensive, his ambition so 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 335 

elevated, his political and constitutional principles so 
truly just and pure, his weight in public councils so 
decisive, his character at the bar so peerless and com- 
manding, that there seems now left a dismal and per- 
plexing vacancy. Never do I expect to hear a man like 
Pinkney again. He was a man who scarcely appears 
once a century." 

John Randolph, who was not accustomed to eulogise 
any one, but always took more pleasure in criticising and 
finding fault, says of Pinkney : " I will not say that our 
loss is irreparable, because such a man as has existed 
may exist again. There has been a Homer, there has 
been a Shakespeare, there has been a Milton, there has 
been a Newton. There may be another Pinkney, but 
there is none noAV." 

Chief Justice Marshall was equally eulogistic of the 
eloquence, learning and ability of Pinkney. He had 
indeed every requisite of an orator. His person was 
noble, his manner commanding, his voice sweet and 
melodious, his learning profound and extensive, his 
imagination brilliant and dazzling, his flow of language 
the most pure and correct, easy and graceful, his pas- 
sions strong and powerful, and his heart filled with love 
and affection for his country, and the liberty and happi- 
ness of mankind. No bad man can be a great orator. 
He must feel himself the great truths he utters, or he 
cannot make others feel them. At the bar, in arguing 
the most abstruse questions of law, he is said to have 
thrown around them a magic charm which interested 
every one. Eloquence is said to be that power which 
moves and sways the multitude, and this Pinkney had 
in a pre-eminent degree, whilst at the same time his 
logic and reasoning were irresistible to the intellectual 
and cultured. 

Mr. Pinkney was an accomplished gentleman, as well 
as an accomplished orator and lawyer. His manners 
were uniformly kind and courteous, and respectful in 
argument. On one occasion, however, he was disre- 



336 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

spectful to Thomas Addis Emmet, the great Irish patriot 
and orator. In the course of his argument he alluded 
to Emmet's being a refugee and exile from his country. 
In reply the Irish orator, who was always happy in his 
repartee, and prompt in resisting a reflection, said : " May 
it please your Honors, I know not where the honorable 
gentleman learned his manners ; but if in his late ex- 
perience at Foreign Courts he obtained them there, I 
am sure he could have kept no company, and if he took 
them with him, it is a great pity he did not leave them 
there." This retort delivered with a slight brogue was 
very effectual and drew from Mr. Pinkney the amende 
honorable in most feeling and beautiful terms. He 
avowed his regret that he should have indulged in a 
seemingly unkind criticism upon his illustrious oppo- 
nent, who was an honor to any age or country and for 
whose character and talents and learning he had the 
highest regard. 

I have spoken of Mr. Pinkney as the most accom- 
plished orator and lawyer that America has ever pro- 
duced. But he was a great statesman as well as an 
accomplished orator and profound lawyer. His views 
in regard to the constitutional powers of our complex 
system of government and its policy, were just and cor- 
rect. He was a stern advocate for the rights of the 
States and the union of the States. They were one and 
inseparable in his judgment. Whilst he denied the 
constitutional power of the Federal Government to 
oppress the States, he did not believe in the constitu- 
tional right of the States to break up the Union. His 
great speech on the Missouri question embodies fully his 
opinions in regard to our National State Governments. 
His letter to Mr. Madison, in 1806, from London, gives 
the views of a patriot and statesman in regard to our 
national honor and duty. 

Mr. Pinkney was a profound scholar, though his early 
education had been neglected. Like Franklin, he edu- 
cated himself thoroughly and profoundly. No one had 



WILLIAM PINKNEY. 337 

a more correct use of the English language. Whilst in 
London, as American Commissioner, he felt keenly, on 
some occasion, his want of a knowledge of the Latin 
language, and he determined to study it and learn it 
thoroughly, which he did. 

As a diplomatist Mr. Pinkney was likewise distin- 
guished at the Courts of England, Russia and Naples. 
In the language of Judge Story he was "one who, while 
abroad, honored his country by an unparalleled display 
of diplomatic science, and on his return, illuminated the 
halls of justice with an eloquence of argument and 
depth of learned research that have not been excelled 
in our day." 

" His personal appearance," says his biographer, 
" possessed a goodly degree of dignity and grace. Tall 
and finely formed, with a head exquisitely shaped, fore- 
head high, broad, massive and slightly retreating, eyes 
of the softest blue, rather heavy in repose, but capable 
of the intensest and most varied expression when roused 
in excitement of debate, a mouth of uncommon sweet- 
ness and flexibility, soft brown hair, scarcely tinged with 
gray when death laid him low, and characteristic neat- 
ness and elegance of dress — he was a man remarkable 
to look upon." It is said he was never talkative, but 
when disengaged by the press of business he was the 
light and life of society. On such occasions his wit 
sparkled and flashed, giving to the conversation an in- 
describable charm, not unlike intellectual fascination. 
He was a great admirer of the ladies. " He had with- 
out doubt," says his nephew, " formed his opinion of the 
mind and heart of woman from the noblest specimen ; 
and knew by early experience that there was nothing 
too abstruse or sublime for the one to grasp, or too 
magnanimous, exalted or ennobling for the other to 
grasp." But he ridiculed in one of his speeches the 
idea of a lady's exercising the right of suffrage. He 
predicted at some future time this revolting idea would 
be advocated. It has been both in England and 



338 WILLIAM PINKNEY. 

America within the last few years. When it is adopted,, 
the refinement and delicacy of woman, which are her 
most lovable characteristics, will be gone. 

As a man, he was warm hearted, noble and generous,, 
and a staunch friend to those whose adoption he had 
tried, but not over quick to make new ones. As a hus- 
band and father he was most tender, loving and affec- 
tionate. His letter to his brother on the training up 
and education of children deserves to be read by every 
parent. 

Mr. Pinkney died February 25, 1822, in the 
fifty-eighth year of his age. What would he have been 
had he lived to the age of Lord Brougham, ninety- 
four? He sat up very late the night before he was 
taken ill, reading the " Pirates," then just published, 
and seemed a good deal excited by the story. From 
that time till his death he was mostly in a state of de- 
lirium. He left a wife and two children. The whole 
country was in mourning at his death in the midst of 
his fame and glory. He was then engaged in preparing 
a great speech to be delivered in the Senate of the 
United States, which it is said would greatly have in- 
creased his fame as a statesman. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

This illustrious statesman and patriot immortalized 
his name early in life by writing the " Declaration of 
American Independence." Had he never done any- 
thing more as a statesman in after-life, his name would 
have descended to the latest posterity as immortal. It 
was a much greater, bolder, and more patriotic act than 
that of Magna Charta, obtained by the proud barons of 
England at Runnymede from their pusillanimous King 
John. This only secured the liberty of a kingdom, 
whilst the other gave birth to a gieat republic, destined 
to be in the future, in territory, wealth, population, and 
intelligence, as well as in liberty, virtue, and religion, 
the most magnificent empire that the sun ever shone 
upon. No act of any people in ancient or modern his- 
tory is comparable to it in its consequences and example 
to mankind. Well, then, may the name of its author be 
immortal and remembered in all time to come. It will 
ever be dear to all Americans and to every lover of lib- 
erty and free institutions throughout the world. 

In the old Continental Congress, after they had 
solemnly resolved to declare the independence of the 
Colonies, and their final and everlasting separation from 
the mother country, Jeiferson, Adams, Franklin, and 
others were appointed a committee to draw up their 
Declaration of Independence. Jefferson submitted his 
draft to the committee, and, after slight alterations were 
agreed on and reported to Congress, it was adopted by 
Congress, signed by all the members, and published to 
the world on the 4th day of July, 1776. 

This bold and defiant Declaration of Independence was 
received throughout the Colonies with patriotic rapture 
339 



340 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

and enthusiasm and ratified by each one of the United 
States almost unanimously. No one thought then of 
criticising its language or sentiments. This, however, 
has been severely done since by a great many of the 
most eminent American statesmen and literary men, 
and, it would seem, properly done. Some years since, 
as I was walking the streets of Philadelphia with that 
literary gentleman and leader of society in the city of 
" Brotherly Love," the Honorable J. Francis Fisher, 
he stopped me, pointing to a little house on the opposite 
side of the street, and said : " There is the house in 
which that grand lie was written, declaring that all men 
were created equal! It is false in every particular," 
said Mr. Fisher. " No two men are equal in any 
respect, much less all mankind in every respect. Some 
are good and virtuous, and some are bad and vicious ; 
some are intellectual, and others are fools and idiots ; 
some are strong and powerful and endowed with extra- 
ordinary physical strength, whilst others are weak and 
feeble ; some are born to wealth and a glorious inherit- 
ance, others are the heirs of poverty and infamy. All 
men are not created equal, and it is a great falsehood to 
say so." These were the sentiments of a most intelli- 
gent and high-toned gentleman. 

A few years before Mr. Calhoun's death he told me 
that he was making a speech in the Senate of the United 
States and criticising the language of Mr. Jefferson in 
his Declaration of Independence. He said he was pre- 
vented by the presence of ladies in the gallery from ex- 
pressing himself as he wished to do. He not only wished 
to controvert the idea that all men were created equal, 
but he denied that men were created at all. He said 
there had been no creation of men since that of Adam 
and Eve. Men were not created, nor were they born 
men ! Babies were born, and only babies. They grew 
to be men afterwards. 

When South Carolina voted Mr. Jefferson's heirs ten 
thousand dollars because he was the author of the Dec- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 341 

laration of Independence, Chancellor Harper spoke of 
the Declaration of Independence as a very poor State 
paper for the great occasion which called it forth. I 
have always supposed that Mr. Jefferson only intended 
to say that all men were equally entitled to participate 
in their governments ; in modern language, " equal 
before the law." 

Thomas Jefferson was born April 2, 1743, in Albe- 
marle County, Virginia. His father, Colonel Peter 
Jefferson, was a man of influence and fortune, and a 
member of the House of Burgesses. Like Washington, 
he commenced life as a surveyor, with a common Eng- 
lish education. Peter was a very large man, and a 
giant in strength. He could turn on end two hogsheads 
of tobacco at the same time, each weighing one thousand 
pounds. The family of Jefferson came from Wales and 
settled in Virginia when there were only six hundred 
inhabitants in the whole province. One of the Jeffer- 
sons was a member of the first legislative body that ever 
assembled in Virginia, which was in 1619, eleven years 
after the first settlement. The mother of Thomas Jeffer- 
son was a Randolph, and belonged to an aristocratic 
family which traced their lineage back to the Earl of 
Murray, connected with the most distinguished peerages 
in Scotland and England and with royalty itself. She 
is said to have been a very beautiful woman, and was 
born in England, and was well educated and fond of 
writing letters ; she was a good Virginia housewife and 
an intellectual woman. Her family and position in 
society enhanced that of her husband's. 

Thomas Jefferson had the misfortune to lose his father 
when he was twelve or thirteen years old ; but his 
mother lived to see him distinguished as a member of 
the old Continental Congress which declared the Colo- 
nies free and independent States. His father directed 
that he should have a finished education, and Jefferson 
said, in after life, that he valued this more than if he 
had left him his whole estate. Accordingly, in 1760, 



342 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

he entered Mary and William College. On his way to 
college he stopped at Colonel Dandridge's to spend his 
Christmas, and there met a broken merchant, "whose 
passion," says Jefferson, "was fiddling, dancing and plea- 
santry." He and Jefferson struck up an intimacy which 
lasted throughout their lives. This broken merchant 
was Patrick Henry. Some time afterwards he called 
on Jefferson in Williamsburg, and informed him that 
he had been reading law, and had come down to be ad- 
mitted to the bar. 

Jefferson's maternal relations who resided in Willams- 
burg, and who belonged to the most aristocratic society 
there, paid him great attention and introduced him to 
Governor Fauquier, from whom it is said Jefferson first 
obtained his sceptical notions in religion. He was a 
hard student in college, although he entered into all the 
gaiety and fashion of the city, then the seat of govern- 
ment. Whilst in college Jefferson fell desperately in 
love with Miss Rebecca Burwell, who partially engaged 
herself to him, and then after years of love, deserted 
him and married another. Little did the young lady 
think that she was giving up a future President of the 
United States for an ordinary humdrum husband. It 
would seem from the early disappointments of Wash- 
ington and Jefferson in love that the young ladies of 
Virginia had not the sagacity of Mrs. John Adams 
. of Massachusetts. Jefferson at this time was only eigh- 
teen or nineteen years old, and he did not get married 
till he was twenty-nine. Then he took a widow twenty- 
three years old, with one hundred and thirty-five slaves 
and forty thousand acres of land. Her maiden name 
was Wayles and her first husband's name was Skelton. 
She was a beautiful and accomplished lady. Jefferson's 
fortune at the time of his marriage was about equal to his 
wife's, and his income at the bar was very considerable. 

Henry S. Randall, the biographer of Mr. Jefferson, 
describes the persou and appearance of the future Presi- 
dent at this time, as follows : " His appearance was en- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 343 

gaging and he was generally a favorite with the ladies. 
His face though angular, and far from beautiful, beamed 
with intelligence, with benevolence and with cheerful 
vivacity of a happy and hopeful spirit. His complexion 
was ruddy and delicately fair ; his reddish chestnut hair 
luxuriant and silken. His full, deep-set eyes, the pre- 
vailing color of which was a light hazle, were peculi- 
arly expressive. He stood six feet two and a half inches 
in height, and though very slim at this period his form 
was erect and sinewy, and his movements displayed 
elasticity and vigor. He was an expert musician and a 
fine dancer, a dashing rider, and there was no manly ex- 
ercise in which he could not play well his part. His 
manners were unusually graceful, but simple and cor- 
dial. His conversation was charming. His temper 
gentle, kindly and forgiving. There is not an instance 
on record of his having been engaged in a personal ren- 
counter, or his having suffered personal indignity. He 
never gambled or was able to distinguish one card from 
another. He had an aversion to strong drinks, and his 
mouth was unpolluted by oaths or tobacco." 

This life of Jefferson, in three large volumes, is a 
most admirable work, nobly vindicating the character of 
Jefferson, and minutely and accurately portraying his 
whole life, public and private. I met the author in the 
Charleston Convention in 1 860, and he sought an intro- 
duction to me as one of the committee on credentials, 
for the purpose of giving me some of the incidents in 
the life of Fernando Wood, who headed a delegation 
contesting the seats of the regular nominees. I was 
greatly disappointed in the appearance of Mr. Randall. 
I had just read his life of Jefferson and imagined he 
was a pale-faced, slender and intellectual-looking gentle- 
man, perhaps in bad health, from long and laborious 
•study. I found him stout, well-built, with a round, 
ruddy face, looking more like a New York alderman or 
retired merchant than a student or literary gentleman. 
He was, however, pleasant, intellectual, and I have no 



344 THOMAS JEFFEKSON. 

doubt a finished scholar, and a learned and laborious gen- 
tleman. We seldom form a correct picture in our imag- 
ination of any one whom we have not seen. 

Mr. Jefferson's reading in college and whilst studying 
law was very extensive and varied. History, philosophy, 
science, fiction, poetry, and the French, Italian and 
Spanish languages, as well as Greek and Latin, were all 
studied or read. Ossian's Poems were first published 
about that time, and he pronounced Ossian " the great- 
est poet that ever existed." Later in life he changed 
his opinion and seldom referred to the poem. He read 
law with Chancellor Wythe, who had the reputation of 
being the purest man and the ablest lawyer in Virginia. 

Although no great speaker, Jefferson was very success- 
ful at the Bar as long as he continued to practice his 
profession. It is stated that he averaged three thousand 
dollars in cash every year from the time he was admitted 
till he gave up his profession. This was doing very 
well for the times. His great success in life was owing 
to his conversational powers, his talent for writing 
letters and his democratic principles. He was a born 
Democrat, although his kindred and associates were all 
of the old Virginia aristocracy. 

In 1769 he was elected a member of the House of 
Burgesses at the age of twenty-six. At the session of 
1773 Jefferson conceived the idea of appointing a com- 
mittee of correspondence and introduced a resolution to 
that effect. He was a great manager and had great tact 
in his management. These committees of correspondence 
united all the colonies and stirred them up to resistance 
to the legislation of the British Parliament. The 
Governor immediately dissolved the Legislature and the 
members were all re-elected. Jefferson proposed, in con- 
sequence of the passage of the Boston Port Bill, a day 
of fasting, humiliation and prayer. This caused the 
Governor to dissolve the Legislature once more. A 
Convention of the people was then called, and Jefferson 
was elected a member of it, and being unable to attend 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 34 & 

the Convention he sent a paper which was in fact a 
Declaration of Independence. This paper, though not 
adopted, was published, and caused Jefferson to be 
denounced in England as a bold traitor. He was elected 
a member of the Continental Congress in 1775 in place 
of Peyton Randolph, who declined to serve longer. He 
made his mark in this Congress as soon as he took his 
seat, although he never made a set speech. 

In 1776 he resigned his seat in Congress and went 
into the Legislature of Virginia for the purpose of 
reforming her laws. He introduced four bills, one to 
cut off estates, another to destroy the right of primo- 
geniture, a third to give religious liberty and repeal the 
establishment of the Episcopal Church as the religion 
of the State, and a fourth to prohibit the importation 
of slaves into Virginia. These bills rendered him very 
unpopular with the wealthy old Virginians, who 
wished to entail their property, make their oldest sou 
a man of fortune at the expense of all the rest of their 
children, have a church established like old England, 
and purchase more slaves to increase their wealth. 

In June, 1779, Mr. Jefferson was elected Governor 
of the State, at a time of most imminent peril, whilst 
Virginia was invaded and ravaged, north and south, 
by Arnold and Tarleton. He conducted the affairs of 
the State with prudence and energy, and secured the 
thanks of the Legislature at the expiration of his term 
of office. In 1783 he was again elected a member 
of Congress, and prepared the beautiful address to- 
Washington on his surrendering his commission as 
Commander-in-Chief of the army. In 1784 he was- 
appointed plenipotentiary minister to France, with Dr. 
Franklin and Mr. Adams, where he remained till 1789, 
when he returned to the United States and was 
appointed by General Washington Secretary of State. 
In 1793 he resigned his office and retired to private 
life. He was then elected Vice-President, and in 1800 
President of the United States. He was re-elected at 



346 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

the expiration of his first term, and then retired from 
public life altogether. The last years of his life were 
spent in founding the Virginia University. He 
requested that the only inscription on his tombstone 
should be that he was the author of the Declaration of 
Independence and the founder of the Virginia Uni- 
versity. He died on the 4th of July, 1826, in the eighty- 
fourth year of his age. 

Like all great men, and especially great statesmen 
and politicians, Mr. Jefferson had his calumniators and 
detractors. He organized the Democratic party, which 
still exists, maintaining the same political principles 
which it first adopted, and were so dear to Mr. Jefferson 
that he embodied them in his first Inaugural Address 
as President of the United States. "Equal and exact 
justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, reli- 
gious or political ; peace, commerce and honest friend- 
ship with all nations entangling alliances with none; 
the support of the State Governments in all their rights, 
as the most competent administration for our domestic 
concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican 
tendencies ; the preservation of the general government 
in its whole Constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor 
of our peace at home and safety abroad ; a jealous care 
of the rights of election by the people ; a mild and safe 
corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of 
revolution when peaceable remedies are unprovided ; 
absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority ; 
the vital principle of republics, from which there is no 
appeal but to force the vital principle and immediate 
point of despotism ; a well-disciplined militia ; the 
supremacy of the civil over the military authority ; 
economy in the public expense ; the honest payment of 
debts; encouragement of agriculture and commerce; the 
diffusion of information ; freedom of religion, freedom 
of the press, and freedom of the person under the pro- 
tection of habeas corpus, and trials by juries impartially 
selected." 



THOMAS JEFFERSOX. 347 

Alexander Hamilton, the great intellectual rival of 
Mr. Jefferson, was at the head of the opposition to the 
Democratic or Republican party, and organized the old 
Federal party, which was at first a party of gentlemen, 
patriots, heroes and statesmen. They were in favor of 
.a strong Federal government, a liberal, or latitudinarian 
construction of the Federal Constitution. These two 
parties have ever since divided the American people 
and still divide them. The old Federal party disgraced 
themselves by enacting the alien amd sedition laws, by 
opposing the war of 1812, and by their strong national 
predilections'. They have changed their party name 
very often within the last seventy-five years, and dis- 
graced every name they ever assumed. President 
Grant capped the climax of Federal infamy by tramp- 
ling on the rights of the States and placing the military 
authority above the civil. 

Nor has the Democratic party been free from grievous 
errors. Mr. Jefferson carried his States' rights doctrine 
so far as to contend for the right of nullification and 
secession on the part of the States. This would make 
the Federal Union a rope of sand, liable to be destroyed 
by every State in the Union at any time. 

In 1819 the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independ- 
ence was discovered, which purported to h'ave been 
adopted on the 20th of May, 1775, more than one year 
before Mr. Jefferson wrote his Declaration of Independ- 
ence. The similarity in language between these two 
papers induced many persons to charge Mr. Jefferson 
with plagiarism. This annoyed him very much, and he 
declared that he had never seen or heard of the Meck- 
lenburg Declaration before. John Adams made the 
same assertion. Mr. Randall in his life of Jefferson 
explains this matter very satisfactorily. There was a 
public meeting at Charlotte, the county seat of Meck- 
lenburg, on the 30th of May, 1775, when very spirited 
resolutions were adopted, amounting to a Declaration of 
Independence, drawn by Ephraim Brevard. These 



348 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

resolutions were published at the time of adoption in a 
North Carolina paper and also in England. When old 
Mr. Natt Alexander died there was found amongst his 
papers this famous Declaration of Independence, said 
to have been adopted on the 20th of May, 1775, and 
which the old gentleman says, "to the best of his 
recollection," is the substance of the Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence. The old man had 
evidently been reading Jefferson's Declaration for 
thirty or forty years and copied it in part. The Decla- 
ration was never published like the resolutions and 
evidently never had any existence till written out by 
Mr. Alexander. Bancroft takes this view of the matter 
in his history of the United States and ignores the 
meeting on the 20th of May, and the Declaration 
entirely. My friend, Governor Swain, of North Carolina, 
spent a good deal of time in investigating this vexed 
question, and came to the same conclusion with Ban- 
croft and Randall. 

The administration of Jefferson, for eight years, as 
President of the United States, was most popular and 
successful. He restored the Government to its true 
Republican principles, and purchased a territory almost 
as large as the original thirteen States. A dozen inde- 
pendent Sovereign States have been or will be formed 
out of this magnificent empire and added to the Federal 
Union. Measures were adopted for the speedy payment 
of the National debt, a most salutary reduction of the 
expenses of the Government was made, surplus offices 
were abolished, and executive patronage reduced, the 
Tripolitan aggressions gallantly chastised, commerce 
extended, and the peace of the Republic maintained. 

Mr. Jefferson was a philosopher and a man of science, 
as well as a statesman. He was elected as the successor 
of Franklin and Rhittenhouse, President of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society. He had great mechanical 
genius as well as literary taste. His writings have 
been published in nine large volumes. In his retire- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 349 

ment at Monticello be kept an open house and enter- 
tained an immense number of visitors with great 
hospitality. He was kind and affectionate in bis family ; 
having lost his wife after being married only ten years, 
he devoted himself to the education and bringing up of 
his two little daughters, and never married again. His 
temper was calm, sedate and philosophical. No one 
remembers ever to have seen him in a passion. In this 
respect he was the superior of Washington. He regarded 
religion as a matter of conscience between every one and 
his God, and neither man nor government had any 
right to interfere in the matter. His great hospitality, 
benevolence and indorsing for his friends ruined him 
financially, and he died insolvent. Such was the sage 
of Monticello and the great Apostle of Liberty. 



JAMES MADISON. 

The commonwealth of Virginia has been proudly 
styled "the mother of States and statesmen." She is 
justly entitled to this mark of distinction. Virginia 
gave to the Federal Union the States of Kentucky, 
Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. She gave the Republic 
Patrick Henry, whose fiery eloquence first sowed broad- 
cast the seeds of rebellion against Great Britain's 
tyranny and oppression which ripened into American 
Independence. She gave the Colonies, at the com- 
mencement of the Revolution, the Commander-in- 
Chief of their armies who led them to victory and 
achieved their independence, and won for himself the 
appellation of "Father of his country," " First in war, 
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." 
An illustrious statesman of hers drew the immortal 
Declaration of Independence. And another son of the 
Old Dominion has been properly termed " the father 
of the American Constitution." Seven of the Presi- 
dents of the Republic were born in the State of Vir- 
ginia ; and all the other States, now thirty-nine in num- 
ber, have only furnished eleven Presidents. 

James Madison, the fourth President of the United 
States, and the subject of our present sketch, is justly 
entitled to be called the " father of the Federal Consti- 
tution." He saw the imperfection of the old Articles 
of Confederation which made the general government 
dependent on the States for the enforcement of its laws 
and the collection of its revenues. This voluntary 
obedience on the part of the States did very well whilst 
they were struggling for independence and overrun by 
the armies of Great Britain. But no sooner was danger 
removed than they became remiss in their contributions 

35° 



JAMES MADISON. 351 

for the support of the General Government and regard- 
less of its injunctions and legislation. Mr. Madison 
proposed a convention of all the States at Annapolis in 
1786 for the purpose of amending the Articles of Con- 
federation. He was appointed a delegate to this Con- 
vention by the State of Virginia. But only five States 
sent delegates, and he then proposed another Convention 
to meet in Philadelphia. The States were all urged to 
be represented in this Convention. Madison was again 
appointed a delegate with Washington and other distin- 
guished statesmen of the Old Dominion. All the States 
sent delegates to this Convention except Rhode Island. 
She was so much pleased with the Articles of Confeder- 
ation that she was unwilling to have them altered or 
amended. 

Madison was the ruling spirit in this Convention, and 
had the Constitution formed according to his views of a 
complex republican government. When the Federal 
Constitution was adopted by the Convention he knew 
there would be great opposition to it by many of the 
States, and misconstruction of its powers. He and 
Alexander Hamilton and John Jay agreed to write 
articles explaining every section, which they did with 
great ability. These articles were collected and pub- 
lished as the Federalist, and did insure the ratification 
of the Constitution by the several States. Mr. Jeffer- 
son said these essays had removed a great many of his 
objections. He was in France at the time the Conven- 
tion met. Thousands of others expressed the same sen- 
timent. When the Virginia Convention met to consider 
the Federal Constitution, Mr. Madison was a member 
of it. He and Chief Justice Marshall were its great 
advocates, and Patrick Henry and George Mason were 
its greatest opponents. Finally the Constitution was 
adopted by a majority of only ten votes. No doubt 
the arguments and explanations of Madison and Mar- 
shall secured this small majority. 

James Madison was born March 16th, 1751, at the 
house of his maternal grandmother, in King George 



352 JAMES MADISON. 

county, Virginia. His father, James Madison, lived 
in Orange county at that time, and his son James con- 
tinued to live there all his life except when engaged in 
public affairs. The Madisons were among the first 
settlers in Virginia. The State Paper Office at London 
contains a list of all the colonists in 1622, and amongst 
them is the name of Captain Isaac Madison. In 1653 
there was a patent taken out by John Madison between 
the North and York Rivers. This John was the great, 
great grandfather of President Madison. His mother's 
maiden name was Conway, and she lived to be ninety- 
seven years old. His father died just as he was 
appointed Secretary of State by Mr. Jefferson. But his 
mother lived to see him twice elected President of the 
United States, and then a retired farmer. She lived in 
the same house with him all her life, and was treated 
with the greatest tenderness by him and his accomplished 
lady. 

In the life of Madison, by the Honorable William C 
Rives, it is stated that a gentleman who was visiting 
Mr. Madison, asked to see his mother, who was then 
ninety-seven years old. She was reclining on a couch 
reading a book which she closed, and took up her knit- 
ting after the gentleman was introduced to her. She 
said her health was good, and she spent her time very 
pleasantly reading and knitting. The old lady expressed 
herself under many obligations to Mrs. Madison, her 
daughter-in-law, for all her kindness and attention to 
her. She said her eyesight was good. The father of 
Madison was a gentleman of large fortune, but never 
engaged in politics. Feeling the great misfortune of 
not having been educated himself, he determined to give 
all of his sons a collegiate education. 

Mr. Madison's health was always delicate and his 
parents concluded that it would not be safe to send him 
(from the mountains to William and Mary College, and 
therefore he entered Princeton College, and graduated 
there in 1771 under the Presidency of Dr. Witherspoon. 



JAMES MADISON. 353 

There grew up between Madison and the Doctor, who 
was a Scotchman, a very strong friendship and attach- 
ment which continued throughout their lives. Madison 
used to tell a great many stories on the old gentleman 
and imitate his Scotch brogue. After leaving college 
Madison went home and commenced a course of reading, 
which embraced law, theology and philosophy. His 
object was to prepare himself, not for the bar or pulpit, 
but for the life of a statesman. 

In 1776, when he was twenty-five years old, he was 
elected a member of the Legislature. His modesty and 
diffidence prevented his speaking or attempting to speak 
in the House of Burgesses. This displeased his con- 
stituents and at the next election he was beaten. The 
cause assigned for his defeat was that he would not 
treat and had made no speeches in the Legislature. It 
is very probable that if he had treated liberally, his 
constituents would have excused his not speaking. The 
Legislature, however, elected him a member of the 
Council, and he continued in this position whilst Henry 
and Jefferson were Governors of Virginia. It is said 
his services in Council were indispensable to Governor 
Henry. Whilst a member of this small body he learnt 
to speak, and in after life became one of the greatest 
•debaters in Congress. No one surpassed him in making 
a calm, lucid argument. 

In 1780 he was elected a member of Congress and 
continued in the old Continental Congress for four or 
five years. After the ratification of the Federal Con- 
stitution he was a candidate for the United States Senate 
and beaten. The Republicans were in a majority in the 
Legislature, although the Federalists had adopted the 
Constitution. His constituents elected him to the House 
of Representatives in Congress, where he became distin- 
guished as a leader and debater. He remained in Con- 
gress during the whole of Washington's administration, 
and acted with the Republican party. But so mild was 
he in his opposition that he retained the respect and 



354 JAMES MADISON. 

esteem of both Washington and his old friend Alexander 
Hamilton. He became the fast friend and political 
follower of Mr. Jefferson, who was organizing the Re- 
publican or States' Rights party in opposition to John 
Adams and Alexander Hamilton, the leaders of the 
Federal party. 

In 1799 Madison went into the Virginia Legislature 
once more to defend his celebrated Virginia Resolutions. 
He made an elaborate report on them which has become 
the text book of the States' Rights party all over the 
Union. The Republican party was successful in the 
Presidential election of 1800, and Mr. Jefferson was 
elected over John Adams. He appointed Madison 
Secretary of State, and he had to take up his residence 
in Washington, where he remained for sixteen years aa 
Secretary of State and President of the United States, 
and where Mrs. Madison became as distinguished as her 
husband for her brilliant levees and entertainments. 

Mr. Madison did not get married until he was forty- 
three years old, and he then, like Washington, Jefferson, 
Franklin, Jackson, and other great men, married a widow 
sixteen years younger than himself. Mrs. Madison's 
maiden name was Payne. Her father was a Virginian, 
who became an abolitionist, emancipated his slaves, and 
moved to Philadelphia. There his daughter married a 
young Quaker lawyer by the name of Todd, who died 
a few years after his marriage, leaving his widow with 
one child, a son. She was a most charming and accom- 
plished woman, and surpassed all the ladies who have ever 
been occupants of the Presidential mansion in graceful, 
easy and cordial manners. There was said to have been 
a striking contrast between her fascinating reception, 
and the cold, stiff, formal ones of Mrs. Washington's. 
The one was all grace, and the other all dignity. She 
made every one easy and happy who approached her. 

The Hon. William C. Preston used to give an amus- 
ing account of his introduction to Mrs. Madison. He 
was a large, overgrown boy, and went to Washington 



JAMES MADISON. 355 

during Madison's administration. His father gave him 
a letter to the member of Congress from that district, 
and requested him to introduce his son to the President 
and his lady. The member very kindly and patroni- 
zingly carried young Preston to the White House, and 
as Mrs. Madison came into the room with a book in her 
hand, she said : " I require no introduction to Mr. 
Preston, and think I ought to know him, as I was the 
first person in the world who ever saw him." She told 
him that he must take up his abode with her, and 
that she had some young ladies from Virginia who 
would make his stay pleasant. No excuse or refusal 
would she receive, and the young gentleman remained 
at the White House two or three weeks, enjoying him- 
self most pleasantly. The member of Congress was 
greatly surprised at the result of his condescending 
patronage to one of his young constituents. He seemed 
rather displeased that his young protege should have met 
with such honors at court. It divested him of all the 
gratitude which he expected for having honored so 
highly his young constituent. 

Mrs. Madison must have experienced a great contrast 
between her staid Quaker home in Philadelphia and the 
excitement and brilliancy of the Presidential mansion. 
She must have thought there was a great difference be- 
tween her first and second marriage. The one was not 
congenial to her spirit and nature, whilst the other lent 
enchantment to her life and developed her soul and 
thoughts. It is said that a woman always values and 
loves her first husband most, and man his last wife. It 
is doubtful whether Mrs. Madison would have been 
willing to exchange her second husband for her first. 
And the same doubt may very well be expressed as to 
Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Jefferson, Mrs. Franklin, Mrs. 
Jackson, and Josephine Bonaparte. Mrs. Madison sur- 
vived her illustrious husband fifteen or sixteen years, 
and was eighty-two years old when she died. 

By the Colonial charter of Virginia, the Episcopal 
Church was the established religion of the Province. 



356 JAMES MADISON. 

In 1774 the Baptists were persecuted, and seven or eight 
of their ministers thrown into jail near where Madison 
resided. This was abhorrent to his nature, and he ex- 
pressed himself in very strong terms against this perse- 
cution of religious liberty. In one of his letters to his 
friend Bradford, of Philadelphia, he uses the following 
language: " That diabolical, hell-conceived principle of 
persecution rages among some ; and, to their eternal in- 
famy, the clergy can furnish their quota of imps for such 
purposes. There are at this time, in the adjacent county, 
not less than five or six well-meaning men in close jail 
for publishing their religious sentiments, which, in the 
main, are very orthodox. I have neither patience to 
hear, talk, or think of anything relative to this matter." 
He afterwards had the gratification of passing in the 
Legislature one of the bills drawn by Mr. Jefferson 
restoring religious toleration to the State and disestab- 
lishing the Episcopal Church. No one, after that law 
had passed, was bound to support any sect. All had the 
right to support such preachers as they liked and were 
not required to support any others. The Baptists had a 
right, as well as all other denominations, to preach with- 
out molestation. It is remarkable that Jefferson and 
Franklin, whose religious notions were skeptical, should 
have been the great champions of religious freedom in 
America. 

Madison was a singularly pure, chaste, moral man, and 
devoted to civil, political, and religious liberty. He was 
also one of the most diffident and modest of men, but as 
firm a man in carrying out his principles as ever lived. 
He hated with a bitter hatred all wars, and it was neces- 
sity alone which made him give his reluctant consent to 
the war with Great Britain in 1812. Mr. Clay, Mr. 
Calhoun, Mr. Lowndes, Judge Cheves, and Felix 
Grundy were most vehement in urging a declaration of 
war for months before they could get President Madison 
to consent to it. Had this declaration of war been post- 
poned a few weeks longer, the repeal of the Berlin and 



JAMES MADISON. 357 

Milan Decrees by Bonaparte, and consequently the 
revocation of the orders in Council by England, which 
did take place, wuuld have superseded the necessity of 
war. 

Mr. Madison was elected President of the United 
States in 1808, to succeed Mr. Jefferson, by a large 
majority of the electoral votes. He received 122 out of 
175 of the votes cast. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
received 47. In 1800 this distinguished son of South 
Carolina received 64 votes for President, and if he had 
permitted South Carolina to vote for him without 
voting for John Adams, he would have had 72 votes 
and been Vice-President. Jefferson received only 73 
votes in this election. In 1812 Madison was re-elected 
by a still larger vote over De Witt Clinton. Madison 
received 128 votes and Clinton 89. The Federalists 
made strong opposition to him on account of the war. 

The war of 1812, into which Mr. Madison was most 
reluctantly forced by his party, proved a great event in 
the history of the United States, and was termed our 
Second War of Independence. It gave the Republic 
national character abroad for honor and pluck and 
taught the mistress of the seas a lesson by our brilliant 
naval victories which she will not soon forget. 

Governor Middleton once mentioned to me that in 
searching over his father's old papers he found a speech 
of Mr. Madison's in the old Continental Congress, takeo 
down in shorthand by his father, Arthur Middleton r 
who was at that time a member of the Congress. In 
this speech Mr. Madison urged a treaty with Great 
Britain, acknowledging the independence of all the 
States except the Carolinas and Georgia, which were to 
remain British Provinces. This caused Governor Mid- 
dleton great surprise and astonishment. He thought 
there must be some mistake about the matter, and on 
meeting Mr. Madison long afterwards he mentioned the 
fact to him. Mr. Madison acknowledged that he had 
made such a speech, and justified himself on the ground 



358 JAMES MADISON. 

that Georgia and the Carolinas had been conquered and 
subdued by the armies of Great Britain, and were then 
entirely under British government. 

In explanation of Mr. Madison's conduct there is an 
important piece of history which should be mentioned. 
When France formed her alliance with the United 
States it was very important to get Spain also to accede 
to it. Mr. Jay was sent to the Spanish Court for this 
purpose, and the free navigation of the Mississippi was 
involved in the treaty. Virginia felt the deepest inter- 
est in this matter, and Mr. Madison was elected a mem- 
ber of Congress in 1 780 for the express purpose of hav- 
ing the free navigation of the Mississippi acknowledged 
in any treaty that might be formed with Spain. Instruc- 
tions to this effect were given Mr. Jay. Afterwards the 
members from Georgia and South Carolina, when those 
States were over-run by the British army, thought the 
importance of having the navy of Spain to co-operate 
with that of France would justify the relinquishment 
of the free navigation of the Mississippi, if Spain should 
make objections on that score. They were apprehensive 
that the "armed neutrality of Europe " might force the 
belligerents to make a treaty on the basis of uti possi- 
detis. Such a treaty would leave the Carolinas and 
Georgia under the dominion of Great Britain. The 
members from these States induced Congress to rescind 
their instructions to Mr. Jay in regard to the free navi- 
gation of the Mississippi. I suppose it was on this 
motion to rescind that Mr. Madison made his speech. 
He thought it better to give up Georgia and the Caro- 
linas than the free navigation of the Mississippi. 

The State of Virginia at that time owned the whole 
of the territory now composing the States of Kentucky, 
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, which bordered on the Mis- 
sissippi. Unless, therefore, the navigation of this great 
inland sea, as it was termed by Mr. Calhoun in after 
times, was kept open to its mouth, this immense terri- 
tory would be greatly impaired in value. Dr. Franklin 



JAMES MADISON. 359 

said to the Court of France, that the relinquishment of 
the free navigation of the Mississippi would be like 
ceding his front door to a neighbor. A most happy- 
illustration. 

In 1776, Madison and Jefferson met for the first time 
in the Virginia Convention. The one was twenty-five 
years old, and the other thirty-three. They formed an 
intimacy and friendship for each other that continued 
for near a half century, without the shadow of a cloud 
ever coming between them. 

They lived in the same neighborhood after their 
retirement from public life, and frequently visited each 
other in their extreme old age. In this same neighbor- 
hood lived another ex-President of the United States, 
James Monroe. It is singular that one State should 
have given the Republic seven presidents out of sixteen, 
and that three of those seven lived in the same neigh- 
borhood. They were not only presidents of the Repub- 
lic like Grant and Hayes and Lincoln, but they were 
great and illustrious men, who would have done honor 
to any age or any country. They were statesmen as 
well as patriots, devoted to learning, philosophy and 
liberty. 

Madison was so amiable, mild and pure in every 
thought and action that he seldom, if ever, gave offence 
to any one in the most exciting times of party politics. 
In argument and debate he was so fair that no one could 
take exception to what he said, and at the same time his 
reasoning was lucid, logical and forcible, that it was 
hard to resist his conclusions. As a debater he was pre- 
eminent in Congress, yet when he first entered public 
life he could not speak at all. Gradually he acquired 
the habit, and became perfect in the art. Public speak- 
ing is a trade, and may be learned like all other trades. 
It only requires perseverance and practice. 

The biographer of Mr. Madison mentions a love 
affair of his, when he was thirty-one or two years old, 
which places him in the same category of disappointed 



360 JAMES MADISON. 

lovers with Washington and Jefferson. Whilst a mem- 
ber of the old Continental Congress in Philadelphia, he 
became fascinated, statesman and philosopher as he was, 
with the beauty, grace and charms of a lovely and 
accomplished daughter of General William Floyd of 
New York, friend of Mr. Jefferson, and signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. The young lady recipro- 
cated Ins affection, and they were pledged to each other. 
But exercising the right which all young ladies claim of 
changing their minds, "this auspicious attachment," 
says Mr. Hives, "terminated at last in disappointment." 
Thereupon his friend Jefferson, who had been served in 
the same way, at a much earlier period of life, writes 
him a letter of consolation, intimating that there are as 
good fish in the seas as have ever been caught out of 
them. He says : " I sincerely lament the misadventure 
which has happened, from whatever cause it may have 
happened. Should it be final, however, the world still 
presents the same and many other resources of happi- 
ness, and you possess many within yourself. Firmness 
of mind, and unintermitting occupation will not long 
leave you in pain." Good, kind, philosophical advice r 
which he no doubt gave from his own experience. Now 
this is the third President of the United States men- 
tioned in our sketches, who was jilted and remained 
broken hearted for many years. In all probability this 
would not have been the case if these young ladies 
could have looked into futurity. We have also men- 
tioned another president, John Adams, who would have 
shared the same fate if Miss Abigail Smith had obeyed 
the wishes and injunctions of her father. There is yet 
another President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, 
who was scornfully rejected by the mother of Miss 
Word of Laurens, S. C, when he asked for the hand of 
her daughter. It would seem that great men have 
not been fortunate lovers. Lord Bacon was not, and 
Napoleon Bonaparte was not. 



JAMES MADISON. 361 

The Federal Convention sat with closed doors, and no 
one was allowed to tell what had been done. But for 
Mr. Madison's diary or journal of the Convention the 
American people would know very little more than the 
result of the proceedings. He wrote out at full length 
what was done every day in the Convention. The mo- 
tions made, who advocated, who opposed them, and the 
vote of the States. This journal is comprised in the 
" Madison Papers " in three volumes, and also a por- 
tion of the debates of the old Congress, and letters of 
Mr. Madison. Included in this work is also Mr. 
Jefferson's account of the debate on the Declaration of 
Independence. 

James Madison was a small man with a feeble consti- 
tution, taciturn in public, but in company with his 
friends he possessed the genial humor of a boy. He 
was facetious and fond of telling a story. In his bear- 
ing and address he was modest and simple, and always 
dressed in a suit of black. He had a great many jokes 
on his friend Jefferson, which he told with great glee. 
He was eighty-five years old at his death in 1836. 



EICHARD HENRY LEE. 

The Lee family is one of the oldest, most distin- 
guished and numerous families in Virginia. They trace 
their ancestors up to Launoelot Lee, from Loudon, France, 
who came over to England with William the Conqueror 
about eight hundred years ago. A descendant of Laun- 
celot Lionel Lee raised a company and followed Richard 
Coeur de Leon to the Holy Land, in the Third Crusade, 
1192. For gallant conduct at the siege of Acre he was 
created Earl of Litchfield. Richard Lee served under 
the Earl of Surrey in his expedition against the Scotch 
in 1542. Richard Lee, a younger son of the house of 
Litchfield, emigrated to America at the first settlement 
of Virginia. He was one of the king's privy council. 
Before Charles II. had been called to the throne, he and 
Sir William Berkly proclaimed him king in Virginia, 
and hence the colony was called the " Old Dominion." 
This Richard had several children, and the two eldest, 
John and Richard, were educated at Oxford. This 
Richard left five sons and one daughter. Thomas, one of 
these sons, married Miss Ludwell, and became the father 
of six sons, and at his death was Governor of Virginia. 
These sons were Philip Ludwell, a member of the 
Council, Thomas Ludwell, Richard Henry, the subject 
of this sketch, Francis Lightfoot, one of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, William, who married 
in England and was elected an alderman of London, 
Arthur, who studied medicine in Edinburgh, took his 
degree, then read law in Lincoln's Inn, was agent for 
the Province of Massachusetts, and afterwards minister 
with Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane at the court of France. 
Henry Lee, of Leesylvania, was the cousin of Richard 
362 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 363 

Henry Lee, and father of Colonel Henry Lee, of the 
Legion. He married Lucy Grymes, the sweetheart and 
"lowland beauty" of General Washington. Harry 
Lee, of the Legion, was her son, a great favorite of 
Washington's, and the father of General Robert E. Lee, 
of the Confederate army. 

The Lee family is now much older than it was, and 
more numerous, but not so distinguished. I remember 
Judge Mason, afterwards minister to France, telling me 
one night at his house in Washington, how low the Lee 
family had sunk in Virginia. He said he was holding 
court on the Northern Neck, where the Lees had all 
lived as aristocrats for more than a century, and one of 
their descendants was brought into court as a witness. 
It appeared in the investigation that he was an old 
pauper, and supported by a mulatto woman. General 
Robert E. Lee, who was the model of a hero, patriot, 
Christian, and man, was the only one of the name at 
that time who had any desirable reputation. His half- 
brother, Henry Lee, was a man of talents and acquire- 
ments, but of infamous character. He was nominated 
by President Jackson, in 1830, as Consul-General for 
the kingdom of Algiers, and Senator Tazewell, of Vir- 
ginia, moved to lay the nomination on the table till 
papers and persons could be sent for. When this was 
done the nomination was unanimously rejected, every 
Senator voting against the confirmation of his nomina- 
tion. Randall, in his life of Jefferson, exposes fully his 
false and treacherous character. It is strange that so 
pure a man as General Robert E. Lee should have had 
so corrupt a brother. They had different mothers, 
though the same father. 

Richard Henry Lee was born January 20th, 1732, in 
the county of Westmoreland. Two of his distinguished 
brothers were older than himself, and two younger. 
He was educated in Europe, and became a most finished 
scholar. His grandson, Richard Henry Lee, in his life 
of his grandfather, in two volumes, published in 1825, 



364 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 

says that when he was informed of his father's determi- 
nation to send him to England to enter college, he com- 
menced boxing with street negro boys. His father 
inquired why he should engage in such rough sport. 
He replied that he understood the boys in college had to- 
defend themselves by boxing or they would be imposed 
on, and he determined to learn in time for self-defence. 
He was a hard student in college, and after graduating 
he made the tour of England, and returned home when 
he was about twenty years old. In the meantime his 
father had died and left him a handsome fortune. In- 
stead of spending his time idly in the enjoyment of his 
fortune, he devoted himself to reading and studying 
law, politics, theology, science, history and belles lettres. 
He received the appointment of a magistrate, and was 
made President of the County Court. When Braddock's 
army came to Virginia he raised a company and ten- 
dered his services to the General, who rejected with 
scorn his Provincial militia. He was soon afterwards 
elected a member of the House of Burgesses, and, like 
Madison, he served his term out without attempting to 
make a speech. He was modest and diffident, and the 
House was filled with old and distinguished men. 

The constituents of Mr. Lee were not so much of- 
fended by his silence in the Legislature as were those of 
Mr. Madison. They re-elected him to the House of 
Burgesses, and continued to elect him, whenever he was 
a candidate, for thirty or forty years. They remained 
steadfast to him through good report and through evil 
report. The first speech he ever made was on the sub- 
ject of slavery. He wished to prohibit the importation 
of slaves from Africa, and stop that piratical trade in> 
which the Northern States were at that time all con- 
cerned. But the first time he ever gave evidence of that 
true eloquence which was latent in his nature was in 
support of his brother, who had been rudely stopped by 
the speaker in the commencement of his speech. It is 
remarkable that one who became so eminent in after 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 365 

life for his unsurpassed eloqueuce, should have been at 
iirst unable to speak. It was the case with Sheridan. 
His first effort was a failure. But lie struck his head 
and said, " it was in there and should come out." 

In the convention of all the colonies in 1774 at Phil- 
adelphia, Patrick Henry made the first speech, and was 
followed by Richard Henry Lee, both of Virginia. 
The one was pronounced the Demosthenes of America, 
and the other the Cicero. Whilst Henry thundered and 
lightened at the oppressions and tyranny of the British 
Parliament, Lee illuminated the whole subject with a 
steady, brilli-mt stream of flowing eloquence. His 
scholarship and learning, and his mild, graceful, cour- 
teous manner gave him the advantage of Henry. He 
was at that time and ever afterwards a finished orator 
in manner and substance. His person was fine, tall and 
manly, his language pure and chaste, his action graceful 
and courteous, and there was a deep feeling and expres- 
sion of his noble face which convinced every one of his 
sincerity and truth. His eloquence was of the most 
persuasive and winning character, mild, gentle and fas- 
cinating. He alternately moved and instructed his 
audience, as he carried their feelings and understandings 
■with him. 

Unfortunately for Lee, in a thoughtless moment, and 
at the instigation of a friend, before the stamp act was 
properly considered, he wrote to England, making appli- 
cation for the collectorship under it. But on reflection 
he immediately changed his course and became the bit- 
terest opponent it had in all Virginia. The Tories fre- 
quently flung this application in his face, and he had to 
explain. It stuck to him through life, but the people of 
his county always treated it with contempt. When a 
special committee was raised in the House of Burgesses 
to draught an address to the King, a memorial to the 
Lords and a remonstrance to the Commons against tax- 
ation without representation, Lee drew two of these able 
State papers. They breathed the genuine and eloquent 



366 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 

utterances of resistance. He originated an association 
in Westmoreland county in February, 1766, which went 
far beyond Henry's Resolutions of 1765. The associa- 
tion went to the house of the collector of stamp duties, 
burnt his commission and stamps, and made him swear 
to abandon his office. 

In the winter of 1776 Mr. Lee had a suspicion that 
Robinson, the Speaker of the House and Treasurer of 
the State, had been guilty of improper conduct in regard 
to the public funds entrusted to him, and he moved an 
investigation. The Speaker was a man of great wealth, 
head of the aristocratic party of Virginia, and an amia- 
ble, popular man. This, however, did not deter Lee 
from doing what a sense of duty told him was right; 
but it made the whole aristocratic party his enemies. 
The investigation showed the truth of Lee's suspicions, 
and the ample estate of Robinson, after his death, was 
made to respond to all of his defalcations. He had 
loaned the public funds to his friends who were unable 
to replace them. 

In 1768 Lee proposed a committee of correspondence 
with all the colonies for the purpose of concert of action 
in their resistance to the legislation of the British Par- 
liament. In 1773 the committee was appointed, and 
by direction of the House proposed a general congress, 
which met in 1774. The address to the King was 
supposed to have been written by Lee, and the memo- 
rial to the people of British America was unquestionably 
by him. In speaking of these papers the great Earl of 
Chatham said: — "When your lordships look at the 
papers transmitted to us from America, when you con- 
sider their decency, firmness and wisdom, you can not 
but respect their cause, and wish to make it your own. 
For myself I must declare and avow that in all my 
reading and observation, and it has been my favorite 
study — I have read Thucydides, and admired the master 
statesmen of the world — that for solidity of reasoning, 
force of sagacity and wisdom of conclusion, under such 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 367 

complication of circumstances, no nation or body of 
men can stand in preference to the general Congress at 
Philadelphia." This is very high praise from a very 
high and noble source. Lee was one of the most 
polished of writers, as well as the most eloquent of 
orators. In this respect he was greatly superior to his 
compeer Henry, who was all-powerful in speech, but 
feeble with his pen. 

Lee, after measuring his strength with the members 
of Congress, returned to his constituents with a high 
reputation as an orator and writer, and as a patriot and 
statesman. He was elected a member of the Virginia 
Convention in 1775, and powerfully sustained Patrick 
Henry in all of his legislation for the defence of the 
State, the organization of the militia, etc. He was 
re-elected a delegate to the Continental Congress, and 
was one of the most active business men in that body. 
In May, 1776, the Virginia Legislature instructed their 
delegates to declare the colonies free and independent of 
Great Britain. On the 7th of June, 1776, Lee moved 
the following resolution: "That these united colonies 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British crown; and that all political connection between 
them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
totally dissolved." This was seconded by John Adams, 
and a fiery debate immediately sprung up. Lee's speech 
on this occasion was said to have been the master effort 
of his life. According to Parliamentary usage he 
would have been appointed chairman of the committee 
to draw the Declaration of Independence, but in conse- 
quence of the sudden illness of his wife he had to return 
home, and Jefferson's name was substituted for that of 
Lee's. In this way he missed being the author of the 
Declaration of American Independence. • How acciden- 
tal sometimes is fame. 

In 1777 Mr. Lee was defeated in his election as a 
member of Congress, in consequence of charges brought 



368 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 

against him in his absence. His constituency of West- 
moreland county, ever true to him, immediately elected 
him a member of the Legislature. He asked for leave 
of absence from Congress, returned home and took his 
seat in the Legislature. He immediately demanded an 
investigation, and the Legislature was satisfied the 
charges were all false. George Mason, resigning his 
seat in Congress at this time, the Legislature elected 
Lee in his place. Thus he was amply vindicated and 
restored to his former position. 

The journals of the old Continental Congress show 
that Richard Henry Lee, during his whole service in 
that body for ten or twelve years, was one of its most 
active, efficient and useful members. He was either 
chairman or a member of almost all the important com- 
mittees. His scholarship, his extensive information, 
his talents and his ardent patriotism were put in con- 
stant requisition by Congress. At one time he was 
President of the Continental Congress. 

Whilst the war of Independence progressed Lee and 
Henry acted together in all the great measures adopted 
by Congress and the Virginia Legislature. But after 
they had gained American Independence, they were 
constantly differing as leading members of the Legisla- 
ture. Henry advocated the repudiation of British debts, 
and Lee insisted they should be paid. Henry wished 
the Continental bills to be received in payment of old 
debts. Lee contended this was not honest where the 
money had depreciated so much. 

Richard Henry Lee was opposed to the ratification of 
the Federal Constitution. In this opinion he and his 
friend Patrick Henry agreed. Lee was not a member 
of the Virginia Convention, and why, it is not stated. 
But after the adoption of the Federal Constitution he 
was, on motion of Patrick Henry, elected one of the first 
United States Senators from Virginia over James Madi- 
son, who favored the adoption of the Constitution. Mr. 
Lee, however, warmly sustained the administration of 



RICHARD HENRY LEE. 369 

General Washington as long as he remained in the 
United States Senate. The amendments to the Federal 
Constitution which he suggested, were adopted, and he 
was reconciled to it. His ill health compelled him to 
resign his seat in the Senate of the United States in 
1792. He retired to private life and died in 1794. 

The private character of Richard Henry Lee was as 
fine as that of his public character. His mother was 
a Miss Ludwell, the daughter of Colonel Ludwell, and 
grand-daughter of the Governor of North Carolina. 
Her great-grandson says she was a high-toned aristocrat, 
and gave all of her care to her eldest son and daughters. 
Her younger sons, Richard Henry amongst them, "she 
gave up when boys to be fed in a great measure by their 
own enterprise and exertions." This was aristocratic 
maternal affection. It is horrible to see pride taking 
the place of love and destroying natural affection. But 
it is true with that society whi^h gives all the property 
to the first born, and leaves the other children to scuffle 
for a living. There must be one gentleman in a family 
at the expense of a half-dozen paupers. This neglect 
of his mother, says Lee's biographer, made him self- 
reliant and independent. 

Mr. Lee was twice married, first to Miss Aylett, and 
then to Mrs. Pinkard. His eldest brother, Ludwell 
Lee, was so much attached to him that he made him 
live with him, and, at his death, gave him all his estate. 
His house was at all times filled with guests attracted 
by his frank, generous hospitality, the suavity of his 
manner, and his instructive conversation. The follow- 
ing description of Richard Henry Lee is given in his 
biography : — " His person was tall and well-propor- 
tioned ; the features of his face were bold and striking, 
and irradiated by an eye, in conversation or debate, 
pouring intelligence over them; his face was on the 
Roman model, his nose Csesarean, the port and carriage 
of his head leaning persuasively and gracefully forward, 
and the whole contour noble and fine." 



370 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 

In shooting swan he lost the fingers on one hand, 
which he always had covered with black silk, and did 
not prevent his gestures being exceedingly graceful. 
" The note of his voice was deep and melodious. It 
was the sonorous voice of Cicero." 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

No American statesman ever died with a purer or 
more exalted reputation than William Lowndes, of 
South Carolina. So beautiful was his character, in 
private and in public, that no one ever imputed to him 
an intentional wrong. So clear was his mind and so 
wise his judgment that all seemed disposed to pay defer- 
ence to his opinions. He was no partisan in politics, 
but rose above all parties and political divisions. He 
was a statesman without selfishness or ambition. All 
of his measures were for his country's good. His mind 
was great and comprehensive, and embraced his whole 
country. No sectional feeling could induce him, whilst 
a member of Congress, to advocate any measure which 
did not redound to the interest, prosperity, honor, and 
glory of the United States. His patriotism was as 
broad as the Republic. In his disposition he was so 
kind and gentle, so amiable and respectful to all, and so 
pure in his motives, that no one could take offence at 
anything he said or did. 

The Lowndes family was one of the distinguished 
Revolutionary families of South Carolina, and rank 
with those of the Rutledges, Pinckneys, Elliotts, Haynes, 
Middletons, Laurens, Gadsdens, and Draytons. Raw- 
lins Lowndes, the father of William, was born in the 
West Indies, and whilst an infant was brought by his 
parents to Charleston, where they settled about the year 
1725. He was one of the judges of the Province under 
the British Crown, and in 1766 delivered the opinion of 
the court in favor of the legality of public proceedings 
without the use of stamped papers. This opinion was 
in opposition to that of the Chief Justice and a minority 
37i 



372 WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

of the court. This opinion was a very able and elabo- 
rate one, and sowed the seeds of resistance to oppression 
and taxation without representation in South Carolina. 
He was a sterling patriot, and a most firm and unflinch- 
ing man. He admired those who loved British liberty 
and freedom, and moved, in the Legislature of South 
Carolina, that a statue of William Pitt, the great Earl 
of Chatham, be erected in Charleston, in acknowledg- 
ment of his patriotic services to the colonies and his 
noble defence of the British Constitution. This statue 
was erected before the Revolution, and now stands in 
front of the Orphan-house in the city of Charleston. 
During the attack of the British on the city the right 
arm of the statue was taken off by a cannon-ball. It 
was said to have been ominous, for the great Commoner 
declared that he would lose his right arm sooner than 
see the colonies, the brightest jewel of the English 
Crown, stricken from it. 

In 1778 Rawlins Lowndes was elected President of 
South Carolina, under the new constitution, after John 
Rutledge had declined the office. He was taken a 
prisoner during the war, and was afterwards a member 
of the Legislature. He was bitterly opposed to the 
adoption of the Federal Constitution, and declared that 
he wished no other epitaph on his tomb than " that he 
opposed the Federal Constitution as fatal to the liber- 
ties of his country." He was worthy of being the 
father of his great son, who is still frequently spoken of 
as "the great William Lowndes." 

This illustrious son of a noble sire was born February 
7, 1782, in the city of Charleston. The same year 
gave birth to John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and 
Lewis Cass. In his seventh year he was sent to England 
to be educated, but returned after staying there three 
or four years, and completed his education in Charleston. 
He graduated in the Charleston College. I have fre- 
quently heard Judge Huger, the bosom friend and com- 
panion of William Lowndes, speak of him and describe 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 373 

him personally, mentally, and morally. He said that 
his son, Rawlins Lowndes, whom I knew very well and 
whose groomsman I was when he was married, was the 
very picture of his father in appearance, but totally 
different in every other respect. William Lowndes was 
very tall, slender, and ungainly in his appearance, and 
not one likely to attract attention for soldierly demeanor; 
but he was known as a gentleman of great firmness of 
character, and a high sense of duty in the discharge of 
public trusts. When, in 1807, the news reached Charles- 
ton of the naval conflict between the British frigate 
Leopard and the United States frigate Chesapeake, the 
arms-bearing men of Charleston, under the belief that 
a declaration of war would ensue, formed themselves 
into volunteer corps, of which only two survive to the 
present time, the Washington Light Infantry and 
Charleston Riflemen. To the surprise of many in the 
city William Lowndes was called to the command of the 
first-named company. It was remarked upon as strange 
that one so inexperienced in military affairs, and seem- 
ingly so unfitted for such duties, should be placed in 
such a position. William Lowndes, however, came for- 
ward, accepted the commission, mustered the company 
into the service of the State, and to the surprise of every 
one inaugurated a standard of discipline and drill which 
caused some of the less enthusiastic members to com- 
plain of the hardships of soldier duty; but the good 
effects of his short administration were felt by the 
W. L. I. for many years after he had left the captaincy, 
which he held less than two years. 

William Lowndes and Judge Huger were about the 
same age and read law together. They entered the 
Legislature at the same time and soon after they were 
21 years old. They were inseparable companions, and 
frequently bore hostile messages for each other. Duelling 
in those days was a sort of fashionable amusement in Char- 
leston, and every young gentleman was bound to guard 
his honor from the slightest supposed reflection. When 



374 WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

Judge Huger met his brother-in-law, Major Henry 
Rutledge, immediately after his (the Judge's) marriage, 
Mr. Lowndes bore the challenge, and the Major, after 
accepting it, said he would like to know what offence he 
had given Mr. Huger? Mr. Lowndes had to tell him 
that the cause of offence had not been communicated to 
him by his principal. On one occasion Mr. Lowndes 
called on Judge Huger to bear a message to a celebrated 
duellist, William Boone Mitchell, who had rented his 
sister's house and would not give possession, as Mr. 
Lowndes thought, for the purpose of provoking him. 
When Judge Huger delivered the challenge, the gentle- 
man, who was a man of character and honor, said : 
" Tell your friend that he is altogether mistaken. I 
had no purpose whatever of offending him, but am 
making arrangements to leave the house, and will do so 
in a very short time." 

Mr. Lowndes died when he was only forty years old, 
and had been at that early age nominated by the Legis- 
lature of South Carolina as a candidate for the Presi- 
dency. He was universally popular in Congress, and 
had acquired a national reputation which was admired 
all over the Union. Had he lived there is little doubt 
he would have been elected in 1824 instead of John 
Quincy Adams. When nominated, he replied like a 
statesman and patriot, like an unambitious man of 
honor, and said : " The office of President of the United 
States is one which should never be sought for or re- 
fused." This expression of Mr. Lowndes has been fre- 
quently quoted and lauded, but adopted by few of our 
great men. It would be a golden rule to follow, not 
only as to the Presidency, but to all offices of honor or 
trust. William Lowndes never sought office in his life, 
but he did refuse high appointments under the govern- 
ment, when he thought no public duty required his ac- 
ceptance. 

Mr. Lowndes, after serving several years in the 
Legislature of South Carolina, was elected a member of 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 375 

Congress from the Beaufort District, in 1810, when he 
was scarcely twenty-eight years old. He took his seat 
in that body December, 1811. John C. Calhoun and 
Langdon Cheves took their seats in Congress at the 
same time. What au illustrious trio of statesmen, 
orators and patriots for one little State to present to the 
National council! each one of which would have done 
honor to the Senate of Greece or Rome at the most 
glorious era of their history. These gentlemen, with 
Henry Clay and Felix Grundy, worthy associates in 
eloquence and ability, forced President Madison to de- 
clare war against Great Britain in 1812. This he did 
most reluctantly, as he was a man of peace and hated 
all wars. But the force brought to bear on him by 
these young representatives of National honor and 
Democracy was too much for him to resist. Had he 
held out a few weeks longer war might, have been avoided, 
as "the Berlin and Milan decrees" were revoked by 
Napoleon, and "the orders in Council" repealed by the 
British Ministry. 

Mr. Lowndes soon distinguished himself in the 
House of Representatives as one of the ablest and fairest 
•debaters in that body. His gigantic intellect soared 
above all personalities and sarcasms in debate. He was 
never passionate or excited in argument, but always re- 
mained cool and calm, no matter what was said in reply. 
His purity of character was evinced in every measure 
he advocated or opposed. All could see his aim was for 
the honor and prosperity of his country. His first 
speech was on the increase of the navy in January, 1812, 
as preparatory for war. The army had already been 
increased thirty-thousand men. The idea was prevalent 
in Congress that no navy the United States could build 
up would be able to cope with that of England. Some 
of the members contended that our commerce was not 
worth the expense of a navy, and that a navy would be 
dangerous to the Republic. 

In reply to these extraordinary views Mr. Lowndes 



376 WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

said : " I hope, however, to be excused for remarking that 
both these gentlemen (Johnson, of Kentucky, and 
McKee, of Pennsylvania) have considered the profits of 
commerce as confined to the merchant. They have for- 
gotten that commerce implies a change of commodities 
in which the merchant is only an intermediate agent. 
He derives, indeed, a profit from the transaction, but so 
must the seller and the buyer, the grower and consumer, 
or they would not engage in it. So must all those who 
are supported by their own industry in commercial cities 
— the clerk, the artisan, the common laborer. Your 
trade was a few years ago unrestrained and flourishing. 
Did it not enrich the most distant parts of your country? 
It has since been plundered and confined. Does not the 
industry of the country languish ? Is not the income of 
every man impaired? If commerce were destroyed, the 
mercantile class, indeed, could exist no longer; but the 
merchant, the rich capitalist, at least, would individually 
suffer less than any other part of the community, be- 
cause, while their property would become unproductive,, 
the value of money would rise rather than fall. The 
honorable gentleman from Kentucky opposes a navy 
now — he will oppose it forever. It would produce no 
possible good and all possible evil. It would infallibly 
destroy the Constitution. Will the honorable gentle- 
man tell why ? How ? He sees the danger clearly ! 
Will he explain it ? An ambitious general might cor- 
rupt his army and seize the capital ; but will an admiral 
reduce us to subjection by bringing his ships up the 
Potomac? The strongest recommendation of a navy in 
free governments has been hitherto supposed to be that 
it was capable of defending, but not enslaving its coun- 
try. The honorable gentleman has discovered that this 
is a vulgar error ! A navy is really much more danger- 
ous than an army to public liberty ! He voted for the 
army and expressed no fears for the Constitution I. 
But a navy would infallibly terminate in aristocracy 
and monarchy! All this may be very true. But are- 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 377 

we unreasonable in expecting, before we give up the old 
opinion, to hear some argument in favor of the new 
one ? The honorable gentleman has asserted his propo- 
sitions very distinctly ; we complain only that he has 
not proved them." 

This speech of Mr. Lowndes was a very long and able 
one, and may be found in " Benton's Abridged Debates 
of Congress." It established his reputation as a debater 
and statesman. He learnedly discusses the naval history 
of Venice, Genoa, Holland, France, and England. 

Mr. Lowndes's speech on the victories of Commodore 
Perry on Lake Erie, and Lieutenants Burrows and 
McCall (a native of Charleston) in the action between 
the Enterprise and Boxer, is unsurpassed for beauty and 
eloquence. It is too long to embody in this sketch, and 
I fear extracts will give you a very faint idea of its- 
beauty and eloquence : — 

"Although Lieutenant Burrows was mortally 
wounded early in this struggle," says Mr. Lowndes,, 
"yet the skill and gallantry with which he commenced 
it, leaving no doubt that if he had been longer spared to 
the wishes and the wants of his country, the same bril- 
liant success which resulted would have been obtained 
under his command ; while the ability with which Lieu- 
tenant McCall continued and completed the contest as- 
sures to him as distinguished a fame as if he had carried 
the vessel into action. But the victory which was 
achieved in forty minutes, with the disparity in the 
effect of the fire of which there are other examples in 
American history — such a victory could only have been 
achieved by men who did not lose for a moment their 
confidence or their cool intrepidity." 

" Of the victory of Lake Erie," Mr. Lowndes said, 
" it was more difficult to speak. It was impossible for 
him to speak in terms which could convey any adequate 
conception of the importance of the victory, of the un- 
rivalled excellence of the officers, of the gratitude of the 
country. The documents referred to the committee 



378 WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

sufficiently prove that superiority of force on the part of 
the enemy which would have ensued their victory if it 
were not the appropriate character of military genius to 
refute the calculations which rely on the superiority of 
force. Nor was the victory obtained over an unskillful 
or a pusillanimous enemy. The English officers were 
brave and experienced, and the struggle on board their 
vessels before they were surrendered sufficiently attests 
the bravery of their seamen. They were skillful officers 
subdued by the ascendency of superior skill ; they were 
a brave foe that yielded to one yet braver. We know 
not an instance in naval or military history in which the 
success of the contest appeared so obviously to result 
from the personal act of the commander as in this. 
When the crew of Captain Perry's vessel lay bleeding 
around him ; when his ship was a defenceless hospital, 
if he had wanted, not courage — which, in an American 
officer, forms no distinction — but if he had wanted that 
fertility of resources which extracts from disaster the 
means of success and glory, he did not say if he had 
surrendered his ship, but if he had obstinately defended 
her; if he had gone down enwrapped in his flag; if he 
had pursued any other conduct than that which he did 
pursue — his associates might have emulated his des- 
perate courage, but they must have shared his fate. 
The battle was lost." 

Mr. Lowndes advocated with great ability the paying 
of pensioners at their own homes instead of collecting 
them in a body at a hospital. His speeches on the 
revenue, direct taxes, tariff, etc., are imperfectly given. 

Mr. Lowndes spoke two hours on the Missouri ques- 
tion in 1820, and in a note of Colonel Benton's to this 
speech he says that the reporter lost the first part of his 
speech by the noise occasioned by the members in hud- 
dling around Mr. Lowndes so as not to miss a word he 
said. 

" Mr. Lowndes being one of those so rare in every 
assembly, around whom members clustered when he rose 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 379 

to speak that not a word should be lost, where every 
word was to be luminous with intelligence and captivating 
with candor. This clustering around him, always the 
case with Mr. Lowndes when he rose to speak, was more 
than usual on this occasion, from the circumstances 
under which he spoke — the circumstances of the Union 
verging to destruction, and his own condition verging to 
the grave. By his exertions, and those of other patriots, 
the Union was saved. No skill or care could stay his 
onward march to 'that undiscovered country from whose 
bourne no traveller returns.' He died prematurely at 
the age of forty." 

Although Mr. Lowndes was not a member of the 
House when he died, resolutions were passed to wear 
mourning for him, and highly complimentary speeches 
were made extolling his patriotism, his talents, his can- 
dor and his virtues. Governor Hamilton, of South 
Carolina, said: 

" I know too well how you cherish the recollection of 
his virtues, not to be certain of your kindest and most 
respectful sympathy. It might, sir, be seemingly pre- 
sumptuous in me to descant on his public virtues in this 
Assembly, where they were so conspicuously exercised 
for a period of ten years, in which the richest and most 
varied knowledge was so successfully blended with the 
purity and ardor of an ingenious spirit and the intelli- 
gence of a lofty intellect. But of his private virtues I 
may be permitted to speak. At home, where we knew 
him best, and loved him most, where our opportunities 
were most abundant for observing the delightful sway 
which the simplicity and modesty of his character exer- 
cised over the higher faculties of his nature, it will be 
allowed us to indulge in an affection for the individual, 
which is quite equal to the admiration which accompa- 
nied him abroad. In the softer charms of human life, in 
the relations of husband, parent, friend and master, he 
was amiable and conspicuously loved and distinguished." 



380 WILLIAM LOWNDES. 

Mr. Archer, of Virginia, said: "Panegyric on this- 
occasion was indeed rendered unnecessary by the settled 
feeling and opinion of this country in relation to Mr. 
Lowndes. He had been for a considerable time con- 
spicuously before the public, a part of that time compre- 
hending a very trying period of our history, and the 
judgment of the public had been awarded in relation 
to him. He was always ranked with the eminent names 
which had passed by and been consecrated to National 
respect. He was already ranked as a man superior in 
worth as he was in mind — as one of the purest, ablest 
and most faithful of the statesmen who claim from our 
country the meed of honor — as combining a large share 
of the highest titles to human deference and estimation, 
talent and public service and virtue." 

Mr. Taylor, of New York, said : " The highest and 
best hopes of this country looked to William Lowndes 
for their fulfillment. The most honorable office in the 
civilized world — the Chief Magistracy of this free peo- 
ple — would have been illustrated by his virtues and 
talents. To manners the most unassuming, to patriotism 
the most disinterested, to morals the most pure, to attain- 
ments of the first rank in literature and science, he added 
the virtues of decision and prudence, so happily com- 
bined, so harmoniously united, that we know not which 
most to admire, the firmness with which he pursued his 
purpose, or the gentleness with which he disarmed op- 
position. His arguments were made not to enjoy the 
triumphs of victory, but to convince the judgment of his 
hearer; and when the success of his efforts were most 
signal, his humility was most conspicuous." 

Judge Huger said to me that Mr. Lowndes differed 
widely from his eminent colleague in Congress, Judge 
Cheves, in this respect. When Mr. Lowndes made a 
great and masterly effort to carry a question on debate 
he was done and had nothing more to say, but Judge 
Cheves would renew his argument and make effort after 
effort to carry his measure. In speaking to Judge 



WILLIAM LOWNDES. 381 

Huger about great men always having great mothers, 
he said it was riot the case with William Lowndes. His 
mother was a lady not remarkable for her intellectual 
endowments. I do not remember her maiden name or 
family. 

Mr. Lowndes married early in life the daughter of 
General Thomas Pinckney, minister to Great Britain, 
and twice the Federal candidate for the Presidency of 
the United States. He had three children only, two 
sons and a daughter. The sons did not inherit their 
father's talents and greatness which is seldom the case 
with the sons of our distinguished men. The Adams 
family is the only exception that now occurs to me. 
They have been distinguished for talents in four genera- 
tions. 

William Lowndes, the pure patriot and great states- 
man, died at sea, and his body was cast into the ocean. 
He has no grave, no tombstone, and no one has seen 
proper to publish a memoir of his life. How neglectful 
are the Southern people of their great men's memory 
after they have been taken from them ! They are not 
so remiss at the North, and life after life is published 
there of those who were not so great or distinguished as 
were William Lowndes, Langdon Cheves, Christopher 
Gadsden, John Rutledge, Robert Y. Hayne, George 
McDuffie, William C. Preston, and many others who 
have never had their lives written. I have understood 
that Colonel Grayson, a most graceful and accomplished 
writer, poet and statesman, prepared a memoir of the 
Hon. William Lowndes, which is now in possession of 
his descendants, but has never been published. 

To the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, 
which has survived the vicissitudes of nearly three quar- 
ters of a century, and which has discharged the patri- 
otic and self-imposed duty of guarding and perpetuating 
the name and fame of this distinguished Carolinian, I 
inscribe this sketch. The young, men of Charleston 
•cannot have a higher example of private virtue and 
patriotic service to the country. 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 

The Randolph family is, perhaps, the most numerous 
family in Virginia, and connected with almost every 
distinguished man in the State. It would now be hard 
to find a family of any distinction in the Old Dominion 
that could not trace some connection with some branch 
of the Randolphs. Thomas Jefferson's mother was a 
Randolph. Chief Justice Marshall's great-grandmother 
was a Randolph. Governor James Pleasant's mother 
was a Randolph. Richard Bland, the celebrated Revo- 
lutionary leader and writer, was the son of Elizabeth 
Randolph. William Smith, the President of William 
and Mary College, and historian of Virginia, was the 
son of Mary Randolph. And hundreds of other dis- 
tinguished Virginians might be named whose mothers, 
grandmothers, great-grandmothers or some more re- 
mote ancestor was a Randolph. The name of Randolph 
itself has always been distinguished in the history of 
the Commonwealth since the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, as it was in Colonial times. 

The founder of the Randolph family in Virginia was 
Colonel William Randolph, the son of a cavalier, whose 
fortunes were broken in the civil war. He came at a 
very early age to Virginia and established himself at 
Turkey Island, twenty miles below Richmond. He 
married the daughter of Henry Isham, of Bermuda 
Hundreds, Virginia, and was of the family of Ishams 
in Northamptonshire, England, who were baronets. He 
had seven sons and two daughters, a pretty good start 
to make towards founding a numerous family, and 
keeping the name of Randolph in existence. Six of* 
these sons married and had large families. Richard, 
382 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 383 

the fourth son, married Jane Boiling, the great-grand- 
daughter of Pocahontas, and the grandmother of John 
Randolph of Roanoke, the subject of this sketch. He 
was proud of his royal Indian blood, and it was his 
boast through life. The same princely blood flowed in 
the veins of Major Thadeus Boiling, and his father, 
Major Tully Boiling, of Greenville, South Carolina. 
John Boiling, the father of John Randolph's grand- 
mother, was the son of Jane Rolfe, a granddaughter of 
Pocahontas. Every one knows the story of this Indian 
princess, and daughter of King Powhatan. How she saved 
the life of Captain Smith, fell in love with him, thought 
he was dead, and then married Rolfe, went to England 
with him, received great attention at Court, and there, 
to her great mortification, saw her old lover, Captain 

Smith. 

William Randolph, theancestorof all theVirginia Ran- 
dolphs,was the nephew of Thomas Randolph, of England, 
the poet, and adopted son of Ben Jonson. The Randolphs 
were a family of great consideration in England, and 
claimed among their ancestors the powerful Scotch Earls 
of Murray, connected by blood or alliance with many 
of the noble families of England, and with royalty 
itself! William came to America in 1660 and settled 
twenty miles below Richmond, as above stated, on James 
River. He acquired an immense estate in lands, and 
left his seven sons all wealthy and well educated. He 
died in 1711, after having filled many important offices 
under the Colonial government. His descendants con- 
tinued to fill some of these offices till the Revolutionary 
war broke out. They then all took sides with their 
country, and were prominent leaders of the Revolution. 
Peyton Randolph, one of them, was first President of 
the Continental Congress. Edmund Randolph was 
aide-de-camp to General Washington, Governor of 
Virginia, Attorney-General and Secretary of State of 
the United States. Thomas Mann Randolph was the 
son-in-law of Jefferson and Governor of Virginia. 



384 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

Randall, in his life of Jefferson, says that the mother of 
Richard Henry Lee was a Randolph. This, however, is 
a mistake. His mother was a daughter of Colonel 
Ludwell. 

The brilliant and eccentric orator and statesman, John 
Randolph, of Roanoke, was born June 2, 1773. His 
father was John Randolph, son of Richard and Jane 
Boiling. His mother was Frances Bland, daughter of 
Colonel Bland, a gallant patriot of the Revolution. 
"" She was possessed of high, mental qualities, and extra- 
ordinary beauty," says Hugh H. Garland, in his life of 
her son. John inherited her talents, but not her beauty 
or amiability. The following beautiful description of 
her is given in Garland's life of her son : " Tradition, 
•confirmed by the portraits extant, speaks in admiration 
of her uncommon charms. The high, expanded fore- 
head, the smooth, arched brow, and brilliant dark eyes, 
the well-defined nose, and full, round, laughing lips, 
pregnant with wit and mirthful ness, the tall, expanded 
chest ; the dark hair, winding in mossy folds around 
the neck and bosom ; an open, cheerful countenance — 
all suffused with that deep, rich oriental tint that never 
fades — made her the most beautiful, sprightly and 
attractive woman of her age." She was married at 
seventeen, had four children, and left a widow at twenty- 
three. Three years afterwards, when she was twenty-six, 
she married St. George Tucker, a native of Bermuda. 
He made a most amiable and exemplary step-father. 

"Little John" was her youngest and favorite child. 
He was, it is said, as inseparable from her as her 
shadow, always either by her side or on her knee. " In 
his dark eyes," says his biographer, " were reflected the 
sadness of her own soul; on his orphan brow was 
imprinted a kiss, that ever and anon a tear washed 
away." This, we suppose, was during her "unhappy " 
widowhood, as she termed it. After her second mar- 
riage, it is very probable "Little John" was not so 
much of a pet, and there were no tears to wipe away 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 385 

the kisses she gave him. His step-father began to teach 
him and his brothers, as well as share with them their 
mother's love. John's constitution was very delicate, 
and he was permitted to do pretty much as he pleased. 
Mrs. Dudley, a cousin, ten years older than himself, 
said she had known him to swoon away in a fit of pas- 
sion before he was four years old. 

In speaking of himself Randolph said, "Indeed, I 
have remarked in myself from my earliest recollection, 
a delicacy or effeminacy of complexion that, but for a 
spice of the devil in my temper, would have consigned 
me to the distaff or the needle." This "spice of the 
devil" continued in his composition throughout life. 
The following interesting account of his early childhood 
is given by himself: " When I could first remember I 
slept in the same bed with my widowed mother — each 
night before putting me to bed, I repeated on my knees 
before her, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed — 
each morning kneeling in the bed I put up my little 
hands in prayer in the same form. Years have since 
passed away ; I have been a skeptic, a professed scoffer, 
glorying in my infidelity, and vain of the ingenuity 
with which I could defend it. Prayer never crossed 
my mind but in scorn. I am now conscious that the 
lessons above mentioned, taught me by my dear and 
revered mother, are of more value to me than all I 
have learned from my preceptors and compeers. On 
Sunday I said my catechism, a great part of which, at 
the distance of thirty-five years, I can yet repeat." How 
impressive this is of the importance of early teaching in 
religion and early instruction in virtue and morality 
and industry. It was an Arabian maxim, that a child 
should be " taught to ride and tell the truth." I would 
add to this maxim that he should be "taught to work, 
to study and to say the Lord's Prayer." 

Before Randolph was eleven years old he had read 
Voltaire's history of Charles XII., the Spectator, Hum- 
phrey Clinker, Reynard the Fox, Tales of the Genii 



386 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

and Arabian Nights, Shakespeare, Don Quixotte, Gil 
Bias, Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, Pope, Homer, Robin- 
son Crusoe, Gulliver, Tom Jones, Orlando Furioso, 
Thompson's Seasons, Goldsmith's Roman History, 
History of Braddock's War, Chaucer, Chatterton and 
Rowley, Young and Gay. But the Arabian Nights 
and Shakespeare were his favorites in boyhood 
and through life. This catalogue of books read by a 
boy eleven years old seems almost incredible. But 
he never took any out-door exercise and was not going 
to school. In childhood he was different from other 
boys, and in manhood he was different from other men. 
His biographer says, "He was a poet, a born poet, 
nascitur nonfit. He did not write poetry, but he spoke 
it, he felt it, he lived it. His whole life was a poem, of 
the genuine epic sort, and mournfully true." " For 
poetry," says Randolph, "I have had a decided taste 
from my childhood, this taste I have sedulously culti- 
vated. I have been all my life the creature of impulse, 
the sport of chance, the victim of my uncontrolled and 
uncontrollable sensations of a poetic temperament. I 
admire and pity all who possess this temperament." 
No doubt these words came from his heart. 

The education of John Randolph appeared to be as 
irregular as his after political life. He was first sent to 
a private school kept by Walker Murray, then to a 
public school in Williamsburg, kept by the same 
teacher. He entered William and Mary College, there 
met Littleton W. Tazewell, who was his only intimate 
friend in the whole college, and continued to be his dear 
friend through life. He left William and Mary Col- 
lege, and went with his mother and step-father to the 
Island of Bermuda to visit his relations. When he 
returned, he entered Princeton College and remained 
there till the death of his mother. This sad event he 
felt most deeply, as he was devotedly attached to her. 
He said she was the only person in the world who 
understood his nature and character. He then entered 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 387 

Columbia College in New York. His brother, Theodore, 
older than himself, had no taste for literature or study, 
and prevented John pursuing his studies as he otherwise 
would have done. How frequently two brothers are as 
different in their course through life as it is possible for 
two persons to be. His eldest brother Richard was 
said to have been at his death the most promising 
young man in Virginia. 

John left Columbia College without graduating and 
traveled through the Southern States, visiting his 
friends, Henry Rutledge, of Charleston, and Mr. Bryan, 
of Georgia. He had become intimate with these two 
young gentlemen in Philadelphia. E. S. Thomas, in 
his " Reminiscences of Charleston," mentions Randolph 
and Sir John ISTesbit coming into his book store one 
morning. He was then twenty- three years old, but 
looked like a boy and had no beard. I will give the 
following extract from Thomas's book : " One bright 
sunny morning early in February, 1796, might have 
been seen entering my book store in Charleston, S. C, 
a fine-looking, florid-complexioned old gentleman, with 
hair as white as snow, which, contrasted with his own 
complexion, showed him to have been a free liver on 
bon vivant of the first order. Along with him was a tall, 
gawky-looking, flaxen-haired stripling, apparently of the 
age from sixteen to eighteen, with a complexion of a 
good parchment color, beardless chin, and as much 
assumed self-confidence as any two-footed animal I ever 
saw. This was John Randolph. I handed him from 
the shelves volume after volume, which he tumbled 
carelessly over and handed back again. At length he 
hit upon something that struck his fancy. My eye hap- 
pened to be fixed upon his face at the moment, and never 
did I witness so sudden, so perfect a change of the 
human countenance. That which before was dull and 
heavy in a moment became animated and flashed with 
the brightest beams of intellect. He stepped up to the 
old gray-headed gentleman, and, giving him a thunder- 



388 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

ing slap on the shoulder, said : ' Jack, look at this.' I 
was young then, but I never can forget the thought that 
rushed upon my mind at the moment, which was that 
he was the most impudent youth I ever saw. He 
had come to Charleston to attend the races. There was 
then living in Charleston a Scotch baronet by the name 
of Sir John Nesbit, with his younger brother Alexander, 
of the ancient house of Nesbits of Dean Hall, some 
fifteen miles from Edinburgh. Sir John was a very 
handsome man, and as ' gallant, gay Lothario ' as could 
be found in the city. He and Randolph became inti- 
mate, which led to a banter between them for a race in 
which each was to ride his own horse. The race came 
off during the same week, and Randolph won, some of 
the ladies exclaiming at the time, ' Though Mr. Ran- 
dolph had won the race, Sir John had won their hearts !' 
This was not so much to be wondered at when you con- 
trasted the elegant form and graceful style of riding of 
the Baronet with the uncouth and awkward manner of 
his competitor." 

This Sir John Nesbit married the sister of Governor 
Joseph Alston, of South Carolina, a most beautiful and 
accomplished lady, and went oif and abandoned her, 
saying that he had engaged himself to her in a state of 
inebriation and felt himself in honor bound to marry 
her. But he thought, I suppose, his honor did not bind 
him to live with her. A strange notion of honor in a 
Scotch baronet ! 

When the Federal Government was organized in 
1789, John Randolph was in New York and attended 
the debates of Congress. He then went to Philadelphia, 
where the next session of Congress was held, and 
remained there for several years. He became intimate 
with Jefferson and adopted all of his States' Rights 
notions, which he adhered to through life. His asso- 
ciates, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Mason, 
Bland, and Tucker, were all of the Jefferson school in 
politics. His cousin, Edmund Randolph, was at that 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 389 

time Attorney-General. He had opposed the Constitu- 
tion in the Federal Convention, and refused to sign it; 
but in the Virginia Convention he was in favor of 
adopting it with some amendments. This cousin seems 
to have had no influence over the politics of John. He 
was a Federalist. 

It is remarkable that one who was so strong a States' 
Rights man as John Randolph should have been so 
much of an aristocrat and so devoted to the principles of 
the British Government. He opposed the abolition of 
the right of primogeniture and the cutting off of entail- 
ment of property. He was bitterly opposed to any one 
exercising the right of suffrage unless he was a free- 
holder. He tells of his mother taking him, when a 
little boy, behind her on horseback and riding over the 
Roanoke farm. She waved her hand around, and said 
to him: "All these broad acres are yours. They were 
given you by your father, and you must never sell 
them." " Keep your land,' and your land will keep 
you." He says it was remarked that Jefferson, Madison, 
and Wythe, who had no sons, might very well oppose 
the right of primogeniture and the entailment of prop- 
erty. Randolph was lamenting the degeneracy of Vir- 
ginia and her sons to a number of English noblemen 
and ladies, when some one inquired the cause. He re- 
plied : " The abolition of the right of primogeniture" 
Parton says that Randolph was more of an Englishman 
than an Englishman himself. He used to say there 
never was such a country before as England and there 
never would be again. 

In 1799, John Randolph, then twenty-six years old, 
made his first speech at Charlotte court-house, in reply 
to Patrick Henry. Well may they have been termed 
the setting and rising sun. It was Henry's last speech 
and perhaps his greatest. Randolph spoke three hours 
after Henry concluded, and kept his audience spell- 
bound, standing on their feet. When he got up to 
speak, an old friend of Henry's said : " I do not wish to 



390 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

hear that boy." Henry replied, "That boy has an old 
man's head on his shoulders, stay and hear him." The 
question discussed was that of the power of State and 
Federal Government. Henry was a candidate for the 
Legislature and Randolph for Congress. Both were 
elected. When Randolph presented himself at the 
clerk's desk to be sworn as a member of Congress, his 
boyish appearance induced the clerk to ask him if he 
was twenty-five years old. He replied, "go and ask 
my constituents, they sent me here." His maiden 
speech was on the increase of the army, and he called 
the troops ragamuffins. This induced two young officers 
to insult him in the theatre. In advocating the election 
of General Jackson many years afterwards, he said: 
"If I must have a master let him be one with epanletts, 
something which I can look up to; but not a master 
with a quill behind his ear." It is remarkable that 
Demosthenes, Cicero, Patrick Henry and John Ran- 
dolph should all have been twenty-six or seven years 
old when they made their first speeches. Randolph's 
maiden speech in Congress gave him, at once, a national 
reputation with the first orators America had ever pro- 
duced. "He had," says Parton, "something of Burke's 
torrent-like fluency, and something of Chatham's spirit 
of command, with a piercing, audacious sarcasm all his 
own. He was often unjust and unreasonable, but never 
dull. He never spoke in his life without being at least 
attentively listened to." His political friends listened 
to him to be instructed, and his political opponents to 
be amused with his wit and sarcasm. 

He served in Congress twenty-five or thirty years. 
In 1801 he was appointed chairman of the Committee of 
Ways and Means, and was continued in that position 
six years. This made him the leader of the House of 
Representatives, and a brilliant leader he was. He 
supported the administration of Mr. Jeiferson with 
great zeal and ability till towards its close, when he 
broke with the administration for some cause not known, 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 391 

and then became its bitter opponent. He transferred 
his opposition to Mr. Madison and affected to despise 
him. He opposed the declaration of war, the embargo, 
and non-intercourse with Great Britain. His speeches 
on these subjects were greatly admired in England. In 
1824 he was elected to the U. S. Senate by the Virginia 
Legislature, and in 1830 he was appointed by President 
Jackson minister to Russia. He staid there only ten 
days and came to England. Governor Middleton told 
me that when Randolph arrived in St. Petersburg as 
his successor, he proposed to sell him his carriage and 
four. Randolph replied that he was no aristocrat or 
Southern nabob, and would have no such equipage. In 
St. Petersburg, Governor Middleton said no one but 
shop-keepers drove less than four horses. When Ran- 
dolph returned to Virginia, Middleton met him driving 
to the court-house in a fine coach and four blooded 
horses. At home he could play the nabob or aristocrat, 
but in Russia he must be a plain Republican. 

It is said that genius is nearly allied to madness, and 
this was surely the case with John Randolph of Roan- 
oke. At one time he was prostrated with a fit of insan- 
ity, and ever afterwards his mind, at times, seemed 
unbalanced. On the death of his eldest brother, he 
would stride over the floor at midnight, and exclaim: 
"Macbeth hath murdered sleep." He saddled his horse, 
took a pair of pistols and rode all over his farm. On 
one occasion he sent word to two of his friends in Con- 
gress to come to his boarding-house and see him die 
They went and asked him how he was. "Dying, sir. 
dying." Soon he began to talk about some question 
before the House. His friends saw that nothing was 
the matter with him, and asked him to go with them 
to the House of Representatives. He replied : " Dying, 
sir, dying." They took leave of him, and when they 
had taken their seats in the House, Randolph made his 
appearance, to their utter amazement, and commenced a 
speech in these words, " Mr. Speaker, this is Shrove 



392 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

Tuesday, and many a gallant cock has died in the pit 
on this day; I will share their fate." 

I remember hearing Mr. Webster tell at Dr. Gibbs's 
dinner table in Columbia, a great many most amusing 
and eccentric actions and expressions of Randolph in 
Congress and in England. For thirty years he had 
loved and reverenced his stepfather. In speaking of 
the descent of property Mr. Tucker said, you know 
John, if you were to die you would give your property 
to your half-brothers as your nearest relatives. 
"Damned if I know any such thing," said Randolph. 
From that moment he was at enmity with his stepfather, 
and would not be reconciled to the day of his death. 

After being infidel, scoffer at all religion, and atheist, 
he joined the Episcopal Church, and was a regular 
communicant. But this did not prevent his accepting 
Mr. Clay's challenge, receiving his fire and shooting his 
pistol in the air. He emancipated his slaves, three 
hundred in number, and directed four thousand acres of 
land to be purchased for them in some of the free States. 
His elder brother had set his free, and they all turned 
out badly. He thought by sending his off they would do 
better. But they have not done well from accounts we 
have seen. 

It is said that Randolph inherited all his mother's 
beauty as well as her talents. If so it must have left 
him at an early period of his life, for all of his like- 
nesses from manhood to old age are far, very far, from 
being beautiful. His last likenesses seem as if they 
were intended for caricatures of the human form divine. 
He died in Philadelphia, June 24th, 1833. Garland, 
his biographer, has him involved in a mysterious love 
affair; whilst Parton says he was incapable of love for 
the other sex, and this was the received opinion of the 
public. 



. JOHN JAY. 

Kamsay, in his " History of South Carolina/' says 
John Jay was the boast and pride of New York. Well 
may such a patriot, statesman, jurist, and diplomatist, 
have been the pride and boast of any State or nation. 
In the course of only twenty-seven years he filled with 
eminent ability a seat in the Continental Congress^ a 
seat in the New York Convention, the Chief Justiceship 
of the State, the Presidency of Congress, Secretary of 
Foreign Affairs, Minister at the Spanish Court, Plenipo- 
tentiary with Franklin, Adams, and Laurens to treat 
with Great Britain for the independence of the United 
States, Chief Justiceship of the United States, Special 
Embassador to England, and the Governorship of New 
York. He was a writer of great ability, and the author 
of several of the best addresses issued by the Continental 
Congress. But more than all this, he had neither ambi- 
tion nor the love of distinction. The invaluable services 
rendered his country in all these varied public stations 
were rendered from" a sense of duty; and when a high 
sense of duty did not demand his services, he declined 
all offices, and spent thirty years of the latter part of his 
life as a private gentleman. The people of New_ York 
tendered him again the office of Governor, which he 
rejected, as duty no longer required him, in his opinion, 
to accept it. He declined the office of Chief Justice of 
the United States for the same reason when nominated 
a second time by President Adams. What a noble, 
disinterested patriot he was ! No position was too_ hum- 
ble for him when his country demanded his services in 
that position ; and no office was exalted enough to tempt 
him from private life when duty did not require him to 
393 



394 JOHN JAY. 

fill it. He accepted the commission of a colonel in New 
York, when no other competent man would do so, at the 
commencement of the Revolutionary struggle. 

John Jay was of French and German descent, and, 
like Sir Samuel Romilly, the pride of Great Britain, 
there was not a drop of English blood in his veins. 
His great-grandfather fled from France to England on 
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His son, the 
grandfather of John Jay, was abroad at the time, and 
on his return home he made his escape from the Catho- 
lics and came to Charleston, South Carolina, where he 
remained a year or two and then went to New York. 
There he married Miss Bayard, of Huguenot descent, and 
had three daughters and one son, Peter, the father of 
John Jay. Peter married Miss Van Cortland, was a 
merchant, made a fortune, and retired from business. 
John, his eighth child, was born December 12, 1745, 
in the city of New York. It is said that he was grave 
and sedate from his childhood. His mother, who was a 
superior woman, taught him as far as the rudiments of 
grammar. He was then placed under a private tutor, 
and prepared to enter King's College, now called Colum- 
bia College, in the city of New York. He was very 
studious, moral, and correct, and graduated with the 
highest honors of his class. He had an impediment in 
his speech, which rendered his articulation indistinct, 
and he read with such rapidity that it was difficult to 
understand his reading. His pronunciation of the letter 
L made him I'idiculous. But he soon overcome all these 
difficulties by a determined effort to correct his pronun- 
ciation and rapid reading. 

Lindlay Murray, the great grammarian, was his 
fellow-student for two years in King's College, and 
speaks of him in the following language : " His talents 
and virtues gave, at that period, pleasing indications of 
future eminence. He was remarkable for strong reason- 
ing powers, comprehensive views, indefatigable applica- 
tion, and uncommon firmness of mind. With these 



JOHN JAY. 395 

qualifications, added to a just taste in literature, and 
ample stores of learning and knowledge, he was happily 
prepared to enter on that career of public virtue, by 
which he was afterwards honorably distinguished and 
made instrumental in promoting the good of his 
country." 

Whilst in College Mr. Jay determined to read law, 
and paid particular attention to those branches of study 
which he thought would be most useful in his future 
profession. He entered the office of Benjamin Kissman, 
an eminent lawyer of New York, as a student, soon 
after he graduated, and was admitted to the Bar in 1768. 
He had an extensive and profitable practice till the 
Revolutionary struggle commenced. Like a prudent 
man he remained single until he had made for himself 
a high reputation as a man of learning, talents and ster- 
ling character. His prudence likewise dictated that he 
should make a competent fortune before he took upon 
himself the responsibility of a family. This dictation 
of prudence young men sometimes neglect and thereby 
involve themselves in poverty and wretchedness all their 
lives. Moreover, after having established his character 
for honor, virtue, talents and industry, he is more likely 
to be successful in his marriage. This was the case 
with John Jay. In his thirtieth year he married Miss 
Sarah Livingston, the accomplished daughter of Gover- 
nor William Livingston of New Jersey. This was in 
1774, just as the political horizon was darkened by the 
approaching storm of the Revolution. His bright pros- 
pects at the Bar were given up and he espoused the 
cause of his country with an ardor and disinterestedness 
surpassed by none of the patriots of that great era. 

New York, now the Empire State of the Federal 
Union was, at the commencement of the American 
Revolution, inferior to many of her sister colonies in 
wealth and population. But more than that, there was 
a stronger and more formidable Tory element in that 
colony than any other ; and the patriots, Livingston, 



396 JOHN JAY. 

Clinton, Hamilton, Jay, Schuyler and others had to 
contend with and overcome this formidable opposition 
to independence and liberty. The news of the Boston 
Port Bill roused these patriots to a sense of their dan- 
ger, and a public meeting was called on the 1st day of 
May, 1774, and a committee of fifty was appointed to 
correspond with the other colonies, and have concert of 
action in resisting the action of the British Government. 
John Jay was a member of this committee, and to him 
was assigned the duty of writing and answering letters 
received. He was also elected a delegate from the city 
of New York to the first Congress which assembled in 
Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. 

It is said, in the life of John Jay, that he was the 
youngest member of Congress. This, however, is a mis- 
take. Edward Rutledge and Thomas Lynch, the dele- 
gates from South Carolina, were both four years younger 
than Mr. Jay, and the youngest members of the Congress. 
The " Address to the People of Great Britain " was 
written by John Jay, which Mr. Jefferson pronounced, 
without knowing the writer, "a production of the finest 
pen in America." The great Earl of Chatham said it 
was equal to any production of Greece or Rome. Con- 
gress, no doubt, appreciated it very highly, for Mr. Jay 
was afterwards appointed to write an " Address to the 
People of Canada," and " The Address from Congress 
to their Constituents." He also wrote the appeal of the 
Convention of New York to their constituents, which 
Congress recommended to the serious perusal of the 
people of the United States and ordered to be printed 
in German at their expense. 

All these addresses have been highly praised by sub- 
sequent ages, and in a sketch of his life in the National 
Portrait Gallery, the following beautiful compliment is 
paid them : " It is impossible to read these addresses 
without being reminded of the wells of classic learning 
which supplied the rushing current of his thoughts with 
a style and language of never failing vigor and attrac- 



JOHN JAY. 897 

•tive beauty. It would scarcely be extravagant to say 
they united the eloquence of Cicero with the pious 
patriotism of Maccabeus ; it is certain that they prove their 
author to have been deeply imbued with the spirit of 
the ancient patriots, and not less those of Palestine than 
of Greece and Rome." 

After the adjournment of Congress Mr. Jay was ap- 
pointed by the citizens of New York a member of a 
committee which exercised, in the absence of all legis- 
lative authority, dictatorial powers in organizing and 
disciplining the militia. When the second Congress 
assembled May 10, 1775, although the battle of Lex- 
ington had been fought, still there were many members 
and a great many citizens who were still unwilling to 
throw off their allegiance to King George the Third. 
They still hoped for a reconciliation between the colonies 
and the mother country. In order to show how futile 
this hope was, and to unite all parties in favor of Inde- 
pendence, Mr. Jay advocated another Petition to the 
King, and carried it against a strong opposition. It was 
fruitless as he knew it would be, but it reconciled all 
patriots to the Declaration of Independence. This 
showed his wisdom and prudence as well as his patriotism. 

In April, 1776, Mr. Jay was elected a member of the 
New York Convention, and had to leave Congress to 
attend on that body by command of the Convention, 
which elected him to Congress. This deprived him of 
the honor of having his signature affixed to the Declara- 
tion of Independence. When this Declaration reached 
the New York Convention, assembled at White Plains, 
on the 9th of July, Mr. Jay indanter moved a resolu- 
tion that the reasons assigned by the Continental Con- 
gress for declaring the United Colonies free and inde- 
pendent States were cogent and conclusive, and that at 
the risk of their lives and fortunes they would join the 
other Colonies in supporting it. He was despatched to 
Connecticut to procure cannon, with unlimited power to 
impress carriages, wagons, sloops, teams, etc. In a 



398 JOHN JAY. 

short time he had twenty cannon delivered at West 
Point. 

The Constitution of New York, adopted in 1777, was 
drawn by Mr. Jay, and immediately after it went into 
operation he was elected Chief Justice of the State. 
This deprived him of sitting in Congress, unless on 
some special occasion. The controversy between the 
people of Vermont and the State of New York gave 
this special occasion, and the Chief Justice was ordered 
to resume his seat in Congress December 7, 1778, and 
he was immediately elected the President of that body 
on the resignation of Henry Laurens, who was ap- 
pointed Minister to Holland. Mr. Jay was appointed 
Minister to Spain September 27, 1779. He arrived at 
Cadiz in January, 1780, after serious disasters at sea. 
He found that Spain was not disposed to render any as- 
sistance to the United States, unless they would guaran- 
tee the possession of Florida to Spain and the exclusive 
right of navigating the Mississippi River. These terms 
Mr. Jay rejected. Soon afterwards he learned that Con- 
gress had instructed him to abandon the free navigation 
of the Mississippi below the southern boundary of the 
United States. This unwise and suicidal act of Con- 
gress was no doubt brought about by the urgent impor- 
tunities of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. 
These States had been overrun by the British army and 
reconquered. They were afraid that without the assist- 
ance of the Spanish navy their independence would not 
be acknowledged. Mr. Madison had already proposed 
that a treaty uti passldetis should be made with Great 
Britain which would leave these States in the possession 
of the British crown. They were unwilling to give up 
the free navigation of the Mississippi to secure their in- 
dependence. It seems that Mr. Madison and the Vir- 
ginia delegation preferred the free navigation of the 
Mississippi to the independence of the Colonies and 
Georgia. Virginia at that time owned the lands now 
composing the States of Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and 



JOHN JAY. 399 

Indiana. This country would be valueless without the 
navigation of the river. Franklin said it was like 
ceding to a neighbor his street door ! Fortunately, this 
proposition was not accepted by Spain with the condi- 
tions annexed, and was immediately withdrawn by Mr. 
Jay. 

During Mr. Jay's residence at Madrid he did procure 
funds for his government, and, finally, an alliance with 
Spain without anything being said about Florida or the 
navigation of the Mississippi. In the summer of 1782 
he was appointed one of the Commissioners to treat for 
peace and independence with Great Britain. Prelimi- 
nary articles of a treaty were entered into between Great 
Britain and the United States in November, 1782, but 
not to take effect till France acceded to them. This was 
done January 20, 1783. In September, 1783, the final 
treaty was signed by all of the Commissioners and rati- 
fied by Congress January 14, 1784. 

Mr. Jay's health having been greatly impaired, he was 
advised by his physician to visit Bath, in England, and 
he did so. Whilst in England his old friend and 
neighbor, whom he had defended in Congress, Silas 
Deane, former American Minister to France, came up 
to him and offered his hand. Mr. Jay told him that he 
could not receive the hand of one who had dishonored 
his hand by extending it to Benedict Arnold. Deane 
had taken offence at the treatment of Congress, abused 
the Government, and became the associate in England 
of Benedict Arnold. Under these circumstances, what 
firmness and honor and patriotism did Mr. Jay mani- 
fest in meeting a former friend and neighbor in a 
strange land and refusing to shake hands with him after 
an absence of many years, because that former friend 
and neighbor had turned against his country and was 
the associate of one of her arch traitors ! This single 
act of Mr. Jay proves what a noble character he was. 

Mr. Jay returned to the United States in July, 1784, 
and learned that he had been elected by Congress Secre- 



400 JOHN JAY. 

tary of Foreign Affairs, which arduous and most 
responsible position he continued to occupy for four 
years, and until the Federal Government was organized 
by the adoption of the present Constitution of the 
United States. He was not a member of the Federal 
Convention, but he did all in his power to have the 
Constitution adopted. He commenced writing with 
Hamilton and Madison the essays known as the Federal- 
ist. In consequence of a wound received in defending 
some young physicians from the assaults of a mob in 
New York, he had to cease writing from the sixth to 
the sixty-fourth number. He was a member of the 
New York Convention called to consider the adoption 
of the Federal Constitution. When it convened, there 
were forty-six members opposed and eleven in favor of 
its adoption. And yet through the influence and rea- 
soning of Mr. Jay the Constitution was adopted by a 
majority of three votes. 

When the Federal Government was organized, John 
Jay was appointed by President Washington the first 
Chief Justice of the United States. He continued to 
discharge the duties of this high office with great learn- 
ing and distinguished ability for five years, when he 
was appointed by Washington Envoy Extraordinary to 
Great Britain to negotiate a treaty of commerce and 
settle the disputes between the two governments. His 
treaty, known as Jay's Treaty, produced a terrible 
excitement all over the United States, and but for the 
great and overpowering popularity of Washington no 
one knows what civil strife might have occurred, or the 
consequences of a war with England. I remember 
hearing when a boy an anecdote of two gentlemen who 
were discussing the merits of this treaty. One said to 
the other, who was denouncing the treaty in the strong- 
est terms, " Have you ever read Jay's Treaty ? " " No," 
said the other, " and damn a man who would read it ! " 

On Mr. Jay's return from England, in 1795, he found 
himself elected Governor of New York, and public duty, 



JOHN JAY. 401 

which had always been his polar star, made him resign 
the office of Chief Justice of the United States and 
accept that of Governor of New York. He served six 
years as Governor, and refused to be re-elected. He was 
then nominated by President Adams Chief Justice of 
the United States, which he declined on the ground 
" that his duty did not require him to accept it." Mr. 
Jay was then only fifty-six years old. Neither ambition 
nor the love of distinction had ever induced him to accept 
airy office. When he thought public duty required him 
to discharge the duties of an office, he did so, no matter 
how humble it might be. But when his sense of public 
duty did not require it, he refused every and all public 
office, no matter how high and exalted they were. He 
loved his country, but not official station, or that dis- 
tinction so dear to an ambitious man. Have we such a 
man now living? I hope so, but I fear they are few. 
In the " times that tried men's souls " there were many. 
Our late unfortunate civil war did produce such a man 
in Robert E. Lee. He was opposed to the war, and 
deeply regretted it, and no doubt anticipated the unhappy 
result. But duty required him to give up honors and 
distinctions that awaited him under the Federal Govern- 
ment, and share with his old mother Virginia and her 
Southern sisters their ruin and destruction. 

Mr. Jay lived thirty years after he retired from public 
life, and died May 17, 1829, in the eighty-fourth year 
of his age. He had served his country well and faith- 
fully whilst that country required his services. When 
others could serve it as well he retired to private life. 
In 1802 he lost his most excellent and beloved wife, a 
loss which such a man would feel most poignantly, and 
to his honor be it said he never placed another in her 
stead. His son, William Jay, with filial affection, and 
justly proud of such a parent, has given the public a 
memoir of his life, with selections from his correspond- 
ence and miscellaneous papers. This work " it is hoped 
will find a place in the library of every American who 



402 JOHN JAY. 

desires to set before his children a bright example of 
private and public virtue." He has been compared to 
Aristides drawn by Plutarch ; but a writer has said that 
whilst Aristides did many things for the interests of his 
country that were unjust, John Jay never did. He was 
a very religious man, and with truth it has been said 
"that the patriot and Christian may equally point to 
him with admiration and applause." 



^OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 

The historian has said that Oliver Ellsworth, the 
third Chief Justice of the United States, was the pride 
of Connecticut. He was indeed, the highest type of 
the New England character. Great talents with great 
practical good sense were united in him through life. 
He was a Puritan in religion, and of the purest morality. 
Plain and simple in his manners and affable to all, with 
an integrity which was never suspected. Cold by 
nature, yet he performed every duty, public and private, 
with fidelity and exactness. Though he had no warm 
admirers, he had no enemies, and was respected by all 
who knew him. He was a patriot from a sense of duty 
more than love of country. His moral firmness was 
immovable. " Neither fear nor the hope of reward " 
could influence him in the least. He was wise and 
prudent, never impulsive. Distinguished for his judg- 
ment, but wanting in imagination. He did not origi- 
nate any great measures as a statesman ; but he enforced 
those he adopted with matchless skill and argument. 
He was not a brilliant orator, distinguished for elo- 
quence ; but an able scholar and fluent speaker. It is 
said that although he spoke with great care, he 
wrote with difficulty. No elaborate production ever 
came from his pen. His learning was not extensive or 
profound, but his good sense supplied all deficiencies. 
Like a true Yankee, he thought more of New England 
than all the rest of the world, and loved Connecticut 
more than all the rest of New England. 

The family of Chief Justice Ellsworth came from a 
little hamlet on a small stream, near Cambridge, in Eng- 
land, called Ellsworth. When the Chief Justice visited 
403 



404 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 

this place in eighteen-hundred and one or two, he found 
a great many of the name still there. In the days of 
the Saxons this hamlet was called " Eelsworth," which 
in the Saxon language is a " place for eels," that is, a place 
where eels are caught in great abundance. In the course 
of time this word was changed to " Ellsworth " by a 
mispronunciation of " Eelsworth." Some of the citizens 
of the hamlet were called Eelsworth or Ellsworth. 
They emigrated to America in 1650 and settled in 
Connecticut. 

It is a remarkable fact that so many of the great 
men of America have sprung from the middle class of 
society; seldom from the lowest class, and not often from 
the highest. Such were John Adams, the son of a small 
farmer, Benjamin Franklin, the son of a well-to-do 
tallow chandler and soap-boiler, Patrick Henry, a poor 
farmer's son, Alexander Hamilton, a poor orphan, and 
in the same class may be placed John Jay, Oliver Ells- 
worth, Henry Clay and hundreds of others. In the 
highest and wealthiest classes of society there is ease 
and luxury and idleness — no stimulant such as poverty 
gives to mental exertion and labor. In the lowest 
classes it requires extraordinary natural talents to over- 
come the disadvantages of birth, extreme poverty and 
want of education. The family of Chief Justice Ells- 
worth were of the middle class of New England farm- 
ers, not rich or distinguished, nor were they poverty- 
stricken and obscure. They were honest, industrious 
Puritans. 

In the Lives of the Chief Justices of the United 
States Court, it is stated that Oliver Ellsworth was born 
April 29, 1745, at Windsor, a small town in the interior 
of Connecticut, of " respectable parents, inured to the 
pursuits of agriculture." Like Chief Justice Marshall, 
" his health was invigorated by the athletic exercises to 
which his father inured him." His boyhood was spent 
between going to school and working on the farm. In 
this way he learned the value of time, and was studious 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 405 

as well as industrious. At the age of seventeen he had 
acquired sufficient classical education to enter Yale 
College, but from some cause not known, be became 
displeased with Yale and went to Princeton College, 
where he graduated in 1766. His standing in his class 
was respectable, though not distinguished for any great 
proficiency in science or literature. His mind was not 
precocious, but the " slow ripening of its powers be- 
tokened a deep root and long-continued harvest." It 
would seem from what is said in a brief memoir of his 
life that his Yankee character displayed itself in college, 
as he was " much more remarkable for his shrewdness 
and adroit management in all the little politics of the 
college, than for any uncommon proficiency in science 
or literature." 

Two or three years after his graduation at Princeton 
he was admitted to the Bar in Hartford, where he com- 
menced the practice of law. At one time he had deter- 
mined to prepare himself for the ministry, and studied 
theology for some time, as did John Adams. But he 
did not, like Adams, lose confidence in his orthodoxy. 
He was at all times through life a most pious man and 
sincere believer. Love, in early life, overcame his 
Yankee prudence, and he made what would seem an 
imprudent marriage for a poor lawyer. His wife was a 
Miss Walcott, of a highly respectable family in Connec- 
ticut. They lived most happily together in their early 
poverty and had nine children, six of whom were living 
in 1839, "connected with the aristocracy of their native 
State." 

On his marriage his father gave him a piece of wood- 
land and an axe, and told him he must work for his* 
living. He did so. With that firmness, industry, and 
perseverance which distinguished him through life, he 
went to work, clearing his land and splitting rails to 
fence it. When Court came he would walk down to 
Hartford to attend to his cases, and after Court was over 
he would return home to pursue his agricultural labors. 



406 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 

In this humble condition he was happy with his wife, 
and had no ambitious views. The idea of being Chief 
Justice of the United States, Envoy Extraordinary to 
France, and United States Senator, never entered his 
imagination. A competent living for his wife and chil- 
dren was all he aimed at in his profession. He did not 
think of achieving distinction even as an advocate till 
one day in Court, whilst arguing a case, he heard a 
stranger say : " What young man is that ? He speaks 
well" These last words made a deep impression on his 
mind. He thought of them as he went home, and no 
doubt told his wife what he had heard a stranger say. 
In his old age he frequently repeated the circumstance 
as being the turning point of his life. From that time 
he began to think of rising at the Bar and gaining for 
himself distinction in his profession. The words, " he 
speaks well," seem to have made him first conscious of 
his latent powers. He soon rose to the head of the Bar 
and got a lucrative practice. How beneficial praise is 
sometimes, and how sweet at all times ! 

His biographer says : " With hands swollen by unac- 
customed etfort and painful from the wounds of thorns 
with which he contended, he came every morning during 
the sessions of the courts to Hartford, returning at night 
to take charge of his cattle and to sustain the imperative 
duties of an agriculturist." After he heard the cheer- 
ing words, " he speaks well," from the stranger he paid 
more attention to his books and less to his cattle. His 
hands were less swollen and pierced with thorns. His 
business increased so rapidly that he had to abandon his 
farm and move to Hartford. He received the lucrative 
• appointment of State's Attorney, and was elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature. The Revolutionary struggle 
came on, and he took firm ground in favor of the inde- 
pendence of his country. His profession was aban- 
doned ; he volunteered his services in the militia, and in 
1777 he was chosen a delegate to the Continental Con- 
gress. There he met Adams, Lee, Madison, Laurens, 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 407 

Morris, Jay, Drayton, and others. Soon after he took 
his seat a resolution was introduced that "true religion 
and good morals are the only solid foundations of public 
liberty and happiness ;" " that the States do suppress 
theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, etc., 
and that the officers of the army do discountenance all 
profaneness and immorality amongst the soldiers." No 
doubt these resolutions were introduced at his sugges- 
tion. Some of the Southern members voted against 
them. 

Mr. Ellsworth proved himself an able and most effi- 
cient member of the old Congress. He supported with 
all his strength the establishment of Robert Morris's 
Pennsylvania Bank, which saved the Continental army 
from destruction. 

In 1784 he was appointed Chief Justice of Connecti- 
cut, and had to enforce some very severe and rigid laws. 
Crimes were then punished in Connecticut, not by a beg- 
garly fine and brief imprisonment, but by whipping on 
the bare back, cropping off the ears, branding with a hot 
iron, exposure with a halter around the neck. The fol- 
lowing sentence was pronounced in 1785: "Moses 
Parker, for horse-stealing, to sit on the wooden horse for 
half an hour, receive fifteen stripes, pay a fine of £10, 
confined in the workhouse three months, and every 
Monday morning receive ten stripes and sit on the 
wooden horse." Another sentence at the same time — 
"Judah Benjamin, for polygamy, ten stripes, branded 
with letter A, and wear a halter about his neck as long 
as he stays in the State." Bastardy was punished by 
whipping on the bare back at the tail of a cart; witch- 
craft with death ; blaspheming or cursing the name 
of God, the Son, or Holy Ghost was death. 

In 1787, the State of Connecticut elected Oliver 
Ellsworth, Roger Sherman, and William S. Johnson 
members of the Federal Convention which framed the 
Constitution of the United States. Mr. Ellsworth was 
an active and prominent member of the Convention, and 



408 OLIVER ELLSWORTH. 

participated largely in all their debates. He was a 
thorough Democrat and States' Rights man, and opposed 
to Madison in almost everything. He advocated the 
equal representation of the States in both Houses of 
Congress, and the election of Representatives every 
year. It was mainly owing to his influence and perti- 
nacity in debate that the small and large States were 
equally represented in the Senate. It is remarkable that 
he and Mr. Madison should have exchanged positions 
with each other after the adoption of the Federal Con- 
stitution. Ellsworth became a thorough Federalist and 
supported all the measures of Washington's and Adams's 
administration, whilst Madison became the champion of 
States' Rights and Democracy. There are very few pub- 
lic men who do not change their opinions in the course 
of their lives. 

In 1789, Ellsworth was elected one of the first 
United States Senators from Connecticut, and was 
re-elected at the expiration of his senatorial term. He 
was one of the ablest and most useful members of the 
Senate. The Judiciary Bill, organizing the Federal 
Courts, was drawn by him, and is a monument of his 
wisdom and statesmanship. It remains in force to this 
day, with slight changes. His letters to his wife whilst 
he was in the Senate are interesting and amusing. In 
one of them he says : " Our oldest daughter is, I trust, 
alternately employed between her book and her wheel." 
He was very fond of children, and regrets that the 
family in which he is boarding have no children of their 
own to amuse him. "But," he says, "there is a little 
colored girl, about the size of our youngest daughter, 
who peeps into my room now and then with a long 
story, which I cannot more than half understand." 

In 1796, he was appointed by Washington Chief 
Justice of the United States in the place of John Rut- 
ledge, whose nomination was rejected by the Senate. 
He remained in this high office for four years, and until 
he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary with General 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH.' 409" 

Davie and Mr. Murray to the Court of France. On 
their arrival in Paris, they found Bonaparte first Consul, 
and formed a treaty with him. On his return home, 
his wife and children had gone to the gate to meet him, 
and greet him with joy, love, and affection. Instead of 
rushing towards them, to kiss and embrace them, as a 
Southern gentleman would have done, he stops, says not 
a word till he had leaned over the fence, with uplifted 
hands, and offered up a prayer to God for his safe return 
home and to them. If anything could show a deep, 
religious, Puritanical feeling, this act of Ellsworth's 
certainly did. An ordinarily religious man would have 
returned his thanks after saluting his family. Without 
knowing his purity and sincerity of character, and his 
strong religious feelings and devotion to God, one would 
have supposed from this act that he was a Pharisee 
and hypocrite wishing to make a show of religion. 

In the Connecticut Convention, called to consider the 
adoption of the Federal Constitution, and of which Mr. 
Ellsworth was the leading member, he again shows his 
Yankee character by advocating the ratification of the 
Constitution on the ground of economy. A view which 
I do not remember to have seen urged by any other 
member of any other State Convention. 

" The structure of his mind," says his memoir, " was 
lofty and well balanced. His eloquence rested on the 
basis of his reasoning power. It aimed not to dazzle, 
but to convince." " In social life," it is added, " he was 
truly estimable; just in his dealings, frank aud sociable 
in his disposition, kind and obliging in his temper, he 
was respected and beloved by his neighbors and acquaint- 
ances. His religious sentiments were strong and earnest." 
It is said on his monument: "His great talents, under 
the guidance of inflexible integrity, consummate wisdom, 
and enlightened zeal, placed him among the first of the 
illustrious statesmen who achieved the independence and 
established the Constitution of the American Republic." 
He died November 26, 1807. 



WILLIAM SMITH. 

When the present Federal government was first 
organized in 1789, there were many active, able and 
talented members of Congress who are now very little 
known. William Smith, of South Carolina, was one of 
those members. He represented the District of Charles- 
ton from 1789 to 1797, in the House of Representatives, 
and there were few members of that body who took a 
more active and prominent part in the debates. In 
1797 Mr. Smith was appointed by President Adams, 
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Lisbon. 

The family of William Smith were amongst the first 
settlers in Carolina. Thomas Smith, his ancestor, was 
made a Landgrave, and appointed Governor of the 
Province under the Proprietary government in 1694, 
twenty-four years after the first settlement made in the 
Province. Governor Archdale, in his "new description 
of that fertile and pleasant Province of Carolina," 
printed in London in 1787, says "Mr. Smith was a 
wise, sober, well-liviug man." He was a gentleman of 
large property before he was made a Landgrave. There 
was at the time Landgrave Smith was appointed Gov- 
ernor such confusion and dissension in Carolina, "that 
he grew so uneasy in the government," says Governor 
Archdale, "by reason he could not satisfy people in 
their demands, that he wrote over A. D. 1694, it was 
impossible to settle the country, except a Proprietary 
himself was sent thither with full power to hear their 
grievances." In consequence of this letter of Governor 
Smith, Mr. Archdale, one of the Proprietors, was made 
Governor and sent over to Carolina by the Proprietors. 
410 



WILLIAM SMITH. 411 

Mr. William Smith, who was the second or third in 
descent from Governor Smith, was born in Charleston 
in 1758, and at the age of twelve years was sent to 
England in 1770, to be educated as was the custom with 
all wealthy planters in Carolina. In 1774 he was sent 
to Genoa to pursue his studies and he remained there till 
1778. He then came to Paris where he remained some 
months with Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams and Arthur Lee. 
Being now about twenty-one years old, he; was anxious 
to return to his native State, and went to England in 
January, 1779, to get funds from his guardian there 
for this purpose. He was disappointed in consequence 
of the financial embarrassments of the country, and had 
to remain in England till 1783. During this time he 
devoted himself to the study of law but could not be 
admitted to the Bar in consequence of his refusal to take 
the oath of allegiance to the King. In 1782 he made 
an attempt to return to the United States, went to 
Ostend, and there set sail for America. But the vessel 
was wrecked on the coast of England, and he had to 
abandon his voyage. 

When Mr. Smith arrived in "Charleston the British 
had evacuated the city, and he was received most kindly 
by the citizens after an absence of thirteen years. He was 
in a very short time elected a member of the Legislature 
from Charleston, and appointed one of the Governor's 
Council. After the expiration of his legislative term, 
he was re-elected and again appointed a member of the 
Governor's Council. In 1788 he was elected a member of 
the first Congress under the Federal Constitution, and 
his seat was contested by Dr. Ramsay, the historian, on 
the ground that he had not been in the United States 
seven years previous to his election as required by the 
Federal Constitution. This was the first contested 
Congressional election that ever came before the House 
of Representatives. It was referred to a committee who 
reported that "after full and mature consideration the 
said William Smith had been a citizen of the United 



412 WILLIAM SMITH. 

States seven years before his election." This report 
was confirmed by the House, and only one member, 
Jonathan Grout, voted in the negative. 

Before the vote was taken in the House of Represent- 
atives Mr. Smith made a very manly and able speech 
in which he gave a full and fair account of his absence 
and the reasons which prevented his return. He 
argued, too, with much ability, the constitutional ques- 
tion involved in this contested election. Mr. Madison, 
Governor Jackson of Georgia, Mr. William Tudor 
Tucker of South Carolina, and Mr. Lee of Virginia 
participated in the debate, which was a very interesting 
one on the subject of allegiance, citizenship, absence, etc. 
Dr. Ramsay contended in his memorial that a person 
could not become a citizen of a country till he had 
resided in it, and that no one could become a citizen till 
he was of age to choose his country. Mr. Smith said 
that as soon as he heard of the American Declaration of 
Independence, he considered himself a citizen of the 
United States. "His property was in Carolina, his 
money in the treasury assisting to carry on the war. 
The Declaration of Independence aifected him as much, 
though at Geneva, as it did those in Carolina ; his 
happiness, that of his dearest connections, his property, 
were deeply interested in it ; his fate was so closely 
connected with that of Carolina that any revolution in 
Carolina was a revolution to him." 

The first speech made by Mr. Smith in Congress was 
in opposition to the duty of six cents a bushel on salt. 
He said "such a duty would be attended with a great 
deal of dissatisfaction, and in proportion to that dissatis- 
faction will be the danger of having your laws con- 
temned, opposed or neglected in the execution. It is 
well known that however small the duty, it will aiford 
the seller a pretext to extort a much greater sum from 
the consumer. Another observation. It is believed 
that the inhabitants of the interior part of South Caro- 
lina are opposed to the new government ; it will be a 



WILLIAM SMITH. 413 

melancholy circumstance to entangle ourselves at this 
time among the shoals of discontent; yet no stronger 
impulse could be given for opposition than the proposed 
tax ; conceiving it in this light, he was against the 
measure." 

The first part of this short extract shows the wisdom 
of a statesman and the feelings of a patriot. All legis- 
lation should avoid, as much as possible, giving dissat- 
isfaction to the people. It would have been well if 
Congress had been governed by this principle in their 
legislation on the subject of manufacturing spirituous 
•liquors in modern times. A moderate tax on each still 
in proportion to its capacity would have yielded the 
government a great deal more than is collected at 
present by this excise law, and been satisfactory to 
the people. The law now is a monopoly in favor of 
large capitalists, and entirely excludes the poorer classes 
•of the community. And the enforcement of the law 
has been a cruel oppression, and it is to be hoped that 
when the Democratic party gets possession of the Fed- 
eral Government this odious law will be repealed or 
modified. 

It is true, as stated by Mr. Smith, that the interior, 
or up-country, was opposed to the adoption of the Fed- 
eral Constitution. The proposition in the State Legis- 
lature to call a convention for the purpose of consider- 
ing the adoption of the Constitution, passed only by a 
majority of one! There were 76 ayes, and 75 noes. 
The convention adopted the Constitution by a vote 
of 149 to 73. General Sumter, General Hampton, 
General Butler, Judge Burke, Judge Pendleton and 
Colonel Thomas Taylor, representing the interior of the 
-State, voted against the ratification. Charleston was 
unanimous, and cast 31 votes for the Constitution; and 
the parishes, generally, were in favor of it. 

Within a few days after the first Congress assembled, 
Mr. Parker, of Virginia, moved to levy a tax of ten 
dollars on each slave imported into the United States. 



414 WILLIAM SMITH. 

This motion was advocated by both Madison and Bland 
of Virginia, and opposed by Mr. Smith, Judge Burke 
and Mr. Tucker of South Carolina, together with 
Gos^ernor Jackson of Georgia and Rodger Sherman of 
Connecticut. It is remarkable that Virginia, the 
largest slave-holding State in the Union at that time, 
should have been the first to commence the slavery 
agitation, and she continued it for a number of years, 
and then fought bravely against it for four years, and 
sacrificed thousands of her best citizens and millions of 
her property to put it down. 

Early in the first Congress the question arose as to 
the constitutional power of the President to dismiss a 
member of his cabinet. Mr. Smith insisted that he had 
no such power, and the only way to get rid of such an 
officer was by impeachment. He was appointed by the 
President and Senate, and it required the appointing 
power to remove him. There is no doubt that this 
is the proper construction of the Federal Constitution, 
and had any one but General Washington been Presi- 
dent, such would have been the construction of Congress. 

In regulating the compensation of the Vice-President 
it was suggested that he should only receive the pay of 
a senator. Mr. Smith argued that he was not a mem- 
ber of the Senate, but a high officer of the government, 
appointed by the Constitution to preside over the Senate, 
and should have a salary suited to the dignity of his 
office. He did not think five thousand dollars too 
much for the salary of the second officer of the govern- 
ment. There was considerable discussion on the salary 
of the President. Eighteen thousand, twenty thousand, 
twenty -five thousand and thirty thousand dollars was 
proposed as his salary. Mr. Smith said nothing on 
this question. The Southern members were for a 
larger salary than the Northern members. Twenty- 
five thousand dollars was finally adopted. But Presi- 
dent Washington told Congress in his inaugural address 
that whilst in command of the American army he had 



WILLIAM SMITH. 415 

only received his necessary expenses, and that this was 
all that he would take whilst President. 

Mr. Tucker, of South Carolina, moved as an amend- 
ment to the Constitution that the people should have 
the right to instruct their representatives. This 
motion Mr. Smith opposed, and said that it would 
render a numerous representation urged by members 
wholly unnecessary, as one member from a State could 
read the instructions. Instead of a representative gov- 
ernment we should have a pure democracy. It would 
change entirely the character of the Federal Govern- 
ment. How an enlightened statesman could advocate 
such a doctrine is a little remarkable. It would 
destroy the propriety of all discussion in a legislative 
assembly, and the member might be instructed to vote 
against the constitution which he had sworn to support. 

On the 5th of September, 1789, it was proposed in 
Congress to authorize the President to appoint com- 
missioners to purchase, on the east bank of the Susque- 
hanna, an eligible situation for the permanent seat of 
Government of the United States. Mr. Smith objected 
to the resolution because it did not require "a cessation 
of territory as well as jurisdiction, which he conceived 
the declaration in the Constitution required." Mr. Lee, 
of Virginia, moved to substitute the north bank of the 
Potomac for the east bank of the Susquehanna. This 
was rejected by 29 noes to 21 ayes. Afterwards a com- 
promise was agreed on by which the seat of Govern- 
ment was to be moved to Philadelphia for ten years, 
and then to be permanently established on the banks of 
the Potomac. 

At the second session of the first Congress Mr. Smith 
was appointed chairman of a committee to draw up an 
address to the President on his annual message. This 
address was most appropriately drawn by Mr. Smith 
and adopted by the House of Representatives. In it 
he said: "We concur with you in the sentiment that 
agriculture, commerce and manufactures are entitled to 



416 WILLIAM SMITH. 

legislative protection, and that the promotion of science 
and literature will contribute to the security of a free 
government." This practice of returning an address 
to the message of the President, copied from the 
English Parliament, has been very properly abandoned 
by Congress. 

On the subject of adopting a Rule of Naturalization, 
Mr. Smith made the following judicious remarks : " He 
thought some restraints proper, and that they would 
tend to raise the government in the opinion of good 
men, who are desirous of immigrating ; as for the privi- 
lege of electing or being elected, he conceived a man 
ought to be some time in the country before he could 
pretend to exercise it. What could he know of the 
government the moment he landed? Little or nothing. 
How then could he ascertain who was a proper person 
to legislate or judge of the laws? Certainly gentlemen 
would not pretend to bestow a privilege upon a man 
which he is incapable of using?" It would have been 
well for Congress after our late civil war to have con- 
sidered the wisdom of these remarks when they bestowed 
the right of suffrage on four millions of ignorant freed- 
men, who had just been emancipated from slavery, and 
belonged to an inferior race. The learned and highly 
cultivated German, Englishman or Frenchman, has to 
remain in the United States five years before he is 
allowed to vote ; but the stupid, ignorant African slave 
was permitted to vote and hold office as soon as he was 
emancipated. The foreigner too, is required to produce 
a certificate of good character ; but no such requisition 
was made of the freed man. 

Early in the second session of the first Congress the 
Quakers of Pennsylvania and New York presented a 
memorial to Congress against the continuance of the 
African slave trade. This memorial excited a long 
discussion and some angry feelings on the part of the 
Southern members. Mr. Smith spoke against the con- 
sideration of the memorial and said it prayed for an 



WILLIAM SMITH. 417 

object which the Constitution had guaranteed should 
not be granted for twenty-one years. Why then should 
the House refer the memorial to a committee? Again 
we find Madison, Parker and other Virginian mem- 
bers of Congress taking sides with the Quakers on the 
slavery question. Governor Jackson, of Georgia, was a 
bold, fearless, active and talented member of the House 
and spoke his mind freely on all occasions. He was a 
true Southern man, and a preux chevalier, as well as an 
able and patriotic statesman. He said : " I would beg 
to ask those then, who are desirous of freeing the negroes, 
if they have funds sufficient to pay for them ? If they 
have they may come forward on that business with some 
propriety ; but if they have not, they should keep them- 
selves quiet and not interfere with a business in which 
they are not interested." 

The Constitution of the United States makes it the 
duty of Congress to designate which officer of the gov- 
ernment shall act as President in case of the death of 
both the President and Vice President. The designation 
of this officer produced a long discussion in the second 
session of the first Congress, and was finally postponed. 
Mr. Smith was in favor of declaring the Secretary of 
State as the proper officer, being more closely connected 
with the President, and better aquainted with the duties 
of the Executive. The Chief Justice was preferred by 
some, and the President of the Senate pro tern., by 
others. One or two members took the ground that the 
President pro tern, of the Senate was not an officer of 
the government, but a State Senator. 

The charter of the Bank of the United States in 1791, 
was discussed eight or ten days in the House of Repre- 
sentatives with uncommon ability. Mr. Smith made a 
speech in favor of the Bank, and was the only member 
from South Carolina who voted for the charter. The 
Southern members generally voted against it. The 
vote was 39 to 20. Mr. Madison made the great argu- 
ment against the Bank on Constitutional grounds, and 



418 WILLIAM SMITH. 

strange to say, he renewed its charter whilst President 
of the United States. Washington had great doubts 
about its constitutionality and got Madison to write a 
message for him vetoing the Bill of incorporation. But 
he afterwards changed his mind and signed the bill. 

In all the debates of the House Mr. Smith took an 
active part from 1786 to 1797. He made speeches on 
the reduction of the army, on emblems of American 
coins, defeat of St. Clair, claims of invalid pensioners, 
mode of examining votes for President, the official con- 
duct of the Secretary of the Treasury, on the commerce 
of the United States, on sequestering British debts, con- 
tinuing the embargo duties on tobacco and refined sugar, 
on President's speech, on thanks to General Wayne, on 
damages of Pennsylvania insurgents, on renunciation of 
title for citizenship, on reduction of salaries, on the right 
to Indian lands within a State, on the Randall bribery, 
on the British treaty, on the admission of Tennessee, on 
the relief of sufferers by fire at Savannah, on kidnapping 
negroes, on liability of the United States to a State for 
war expenses, on petition of manumitted slaves, increase 
of duties, on liberation of Lafayette, on expatriation, 
tax on lawyers, and many, very many other questions. 

In the latter part of his life Mr. Smith added to his 
given name that of his mother's family, Laughton, to 
distinguish him from other William Smiths in South 
Carolina, and he is now remembered as William Laugh- 
ton Smith. He was twice married, first to Miss Izard 
and secondly to Miss Wragg. By each of these mar- 
riages he had a son and daughter. The son of his first 
marriage died early in life, and his daughter married 
the Danish Consul at Philadelphia, Mr. Petersen, and 
was residing in Denmark at the commencement of our 
civil war. His son, William Wragg Smith, by his 
second marriage, died a few years since, and was a gen- 
tleman of talents and literary taste. His daughter, Mrs. 
Thomas O. Lownds, is still living, and inherits her 
father's love of literature. She was only four years old 



WILLIAM SMITH. 419 

at the death of her father, and her brother was only two 
years old. William Laughton Smith died when he was 
forty-four years old, cut off in the prime of his life and 
usefulness. Had he lived he would have risen higher 
in public favor and been more distinguished as a states- 
man. The motto on his coat of arms which is before 
me was " Fideem Genusque Serraho." 



' HENRY LAURENS. 

The first permanent settlement in South Carolina was 
in 1670. One hundred years previously, the French 
had made a settlement on the Island of St. Helena, 
under the auspices of Admiral Caligney, who sought in 
Carolina an asylum for the oppressed Protestants of 
France. This little colony was captured by the Span- 
iards, who hung the prisoners and left a label stating 
that they were not executed as Frenchmen, but as her- 
etics. The French returned and re-captured the fort. 
They then hung all the Spaniards, and stated that they 
were not executed as Catholics but as murderers and 
robbers. The settlement was abandoned by the French. 

Governor Sayle landed at Port Royal with a few 
followers in 1670, and the next year becoming dissatis- 
fied with the place, moved to the western banks of the 
Ashley River, and there laid the foundation of " old 
Charlestown." This situation did not please the Settlers, 
and they removed a second time to " Oyster Point" and 
there commenced the present city of Charleston. Fif- 
teen or twenty years after the planting of this English 
colony in South Carolina, there was a large emigration 
from France of Huguenots who sought religious liberty 
in the new world, and landed in Charleston. Amongst 
them were many ancestors of the most distinguished fam- 
ilies of South Carolina, viz. : the Hugers, Gaillards, 
Marions, Laurens, Legares, Mazycks, Manigaults, Prio- 
leaus, Postells, Porchers, Simons, Ravenels, Trezevants, 
etc. They settled mostly on the Santee River, and were 
looked upon with jealousy by the English. For some 
years they were not allowed to vote or sit in the Colonial 
Legislature. 
420 



HENRY LAURENS. 421 

The family of Henry Laurens's ancestors were amongst 
those French refugees above named. They did not go 
to the Santee but remained in Charleston, as did many 
others who were artisans and traders. It is stated in 
.Ramsay's History of South Carolina, that they first set- 
tled in New York. The climate of South Carolina was 
thought to be more desirable and more like that of the 
home from which they had been exiled. Nothing fur- 
ther is known of the Laurens family. Dr. Iiamsay has 
given a sketch of Henry Laurens and also of his gal- 
lant son John Laurens, in his History of South Carolina, 
but says not one word of Henry's father. Inasmuch as 
Dr. Ramsay married a daughter of Henry Laurens he 
could have given some account of his parents. 

Henry Laurens was born in 1724 in the city of 
Charleston. He was destined to be a merchant, and his 
education was completed at private schools. Early in 
life he was placed in the counting-house of Thomas 
Smith, a merchant of Charleston, and then under the 
superintendence of Mr. Crahatt, a merchant of London, 
who had done business in Charleston. Under these 
gentlemen he learned to be a merchant. He was remark- 
able through life for order, system and method, which 
were taught him by these merchants. When he returned 
from London he entered into business with an eminent 
merchant of Charleston, and by his attention to business, 
practical good sense, punctuality, caution and wisdom, 
he accumulated a very large fortune. He worked 
hard himself and made every one else about him 
work also. Like Mr. Jefferson, who said the sun never 
caught him in bed summer or winter, Laurens was an 
early riser. It is said he required less sleep than most 
persons, and transacted most of his mercantile business 
after night. He was a model merchant for the young 
business men of the city to study and imitate. 

His knowledge of human nature was said to be per- 
fect, and he was able to estimate every man who dealt 
with him at his par value. He did a large credit busi- 



422 HENRY LAURENS. 

ness but made no bad debts. At the expiration of his 
partnership, which had continued twenty-three years, 
and embraced transactions amounting to many millions 
of dollars, he offered to take all the debts due the firm 
as cash at a discount of five per cent. His style of 
writing was very superior, and he always expressed him- 
self in strong and forcible language, which would never 
admit of any doubt as to his meaning. His conversa- 
tional powers were very great, and always interesting 
and adapted to the company in which he was, whether 
young or old, grave or gay, men of pleasure or men of 
business. 

In the character of Henry Laurens there was a great 
deal of the old Roman. His love of justice was supreme, 
and he was bold, fearless and disinterested through a 
long and eminently useful life. He was devoted to the 
cause of his country, and nothing could swerve him 
from her interest. Having had the misfortune to lose 
his wife in 1771, who was the sister of Chief Justice 
Rutledge, he carried his two sons to Europe to be edu- 
cated, and whilst there he joined in a petition of the 
Americans in London addressed to the British Ministry 
against the Boston Port Bill. He did all he could to 
check the arbitrary measures of Great Britain towards 
the Colonies and all in vain. Becoming satisfied it was 
the purpose of the English government to force the col- 
onies into submission, he returned home in 1774, and 
so proclaimed to his friends in Charleston. The people 
had great confidence in his judgment, and began accord- 
ingly to make preparations to defend themselves. 
His leaving England at this period and coming to 
share the fate of his country endeared him to his 
fellow-citizens, and they appointed him President of 
the Committee of Safety, which exercised all power 
in the State, from the suspension of the Royal govern- 
ment to the formation of a State government. 

In 1776, when the Constitution of the State was 
adopted and a regular government organized under it, 



HENRY LAURENS. 423 

Henry Laurens was elected a delegate to the old 
Continental Congress. His talents, worth and abili- 
ties were soon discovered and appreciated by that noble 
band of patriots, and he was elected President of the 
Congress. Having been the first and most successful of 
merchants, he was now ranked among the most eminent 
of statesmen and patriots. His correspondence whilst 
President of Congress fills two large folio volumes — 
still in manuscript in the archives of the Federal 
Government. 

When Mr. Laurens left England for the purpose of 
returning to South Carolina, he wrote his friend, Mr. 
Oswald, who was afterwards one of the commissioners 
on the part of Great Britain to treat for the independence 
of the United States, as follows: "I shall never forget 
your friendly attention to my interest; but I dare not 
return. Your ministers are deaf to information, and 
seem bent on provoking an unnecessary contest. I 
think I have acted the part of a faithful subject. I 
now go, resolved still to labor for peace; at the same 
time determined in the last event to stand or fall 
with my country." He assured his friends in Eng- 
land that the colonies would not submit to the arbitrary, 
oppressive and unconstitutional exactions of the British 
Parliament. 

In 1778 Mr. Laurens resigned his seat in Congress 
and was appointed Minister to Holland. He was cap- 
tured by a British vessel on his way to Holland. He 
threw his papers overboard, but they were recovered by 
a sailor, and produced a declaration of war on the part 
of England against Holland. Laurens was committed 
a prisoner to the Tower of London, charged with high 
treason as a British subject. He was closely confined 
and not allowed to see any of his friends. The use 
of pen, ink and paper was denied him. Congress 
offered to exchange General Burgoyne for him, but the 
proposition was rejected. He remained in prison fifteen 
months, and until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. 



424 HENRY LAURENS. 

He was fifty-six years old, and his imprisonment bad 
greatly impaired his health. At length he was admitted 
to bail, after they had tried every means of seducing him 
from his allegiance to his country. His reply was : " I 
will never subscribe to my own infamy and the dishonor 
of my children." He was told that Charleston had 
surrendered, and that the large landed estate would be 
confiscated. He replied, " None of these things move 
me." 

In 1781 his son, John Laurens, "the Bayard of 
the South," was in France as the special minister of 
Congress. He was requested to write his son to with- 
draw from France and he would be released. He 
replied : " My son is of age and has a will of his own. 
If I should write him in the terms you request it would 
have no effect. I know him to be a man of honor. 
He loves me dearly and would lay down his life to 
save mine ; but I am sure he would not sacrifice his 
honor to save my life, and I applaud him for it." 
Whilst in prison Mr. Laurens was called upon to pay 
his wardens for attending on him. He said : " I will 
not pay the wardens, whom I never employed, and 
whose attendance I shall be glad to dispense with." 

When the time for his appearance at court drew near 
he was informed by Lord Shelburne that he was dis- 
charged. He replied " that he durst not accept himself 
as a gift ; and as Congress had once offered Lieutenant 
General Burgoyne for him, he had no doubt of their 
now giving Lieutenant General Earl Cornwallis for 
the same purpose." He had been appointed by Con- 
gress one of the Commissioners to treat for peace and 
the independence of the United States. Lord Shelburne 
wished to have him go to Paris in subserviency to the 
British government. When the recognizance was read 
to him for his bail, the words "our Sovereign Lord the 
King" were repudiated by him. He said promptly, in 
open court, " JS'ot my sovereign." 

Whilst a prisoner in the Tower of London he had the 
pleasure of hearing that the sword of Lord Cornwallis 



HENRY LAURENS. 425 

was surrendered to his son, John Laurens, who was ap- 
pointed by Washington to receive the same. He went 
to Paris after his release, and there, with Dr. Franklin, 
John Adams and John Jay, signed the treaty of peace 
with the commissioners of France and England. He 
immediately returned to Carolina, and all honors were 
tendered him. The Legislature proposed to elect 
him Governor, which he declined, and he also declined 
a seat in Congress. Without his knowledge he was 
elected a member of the State Convention to consider 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution, but he refused 
to take his seat in the Convention. His long confine- 
ment in prison had impaired his health ; and the death 
of his gallant and distinguished son, John Laurens, had 
broken his spirits, and he ceased to take any active part 
in public affairs. 

There was something charming, glorious and fasci- 
nating in the character of Henry Laurens's eldest son, 
John Laurens, " the Bayard of the South." He was 
killed in a little skirmish at the close of the war near 
Charleston, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. He 
had been educated in Europe, and left there at the nge 
of nineteen to espouse the cause of his country. He 
volunteered his services in the Continental army, and 
was soon taken by Washington into his military family 
as one of his aids. Congress directed Washington to 
give him the commission of a colonel in the line, which 
he refused to accept, as it would be doing injustice to 
older officers to have himself placed over them. How 
disinterested ! and what a high sense of honor he had ! 
When General Charles Lee made some reflections on 
General Washington, John Laurens immediately chal- 
lenged him and wounded him severely. Lee was asked 
" how Laurens had conducted himself." The old vete- 
ran replied : " I could have hugged the noble boy, he 
pleased me so." Honor was his idol, and to that idol 
he sacrificed himself in his youth by marrying a girl 
unworthy of him in England. He was in the battles of 



426 HENRY LAURENS. 

Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, siege of Charles- 
ton, attack on Savannah and at Yorktown. He was as 
handsome and accomplished as he was brave and honor- 
able. Had he lived, his talents and acquirements would 
have made him rank with the most eminent of Caro- 
lina's sons in the halls of legislation, in the council 
chamber, and in the courts of justice, as a statesman, 
lawyer and orator. 

Henry Laurens himself was a true chevalier, and 
responded to several calls to the field of honor, and 
always received the fire of his antagonist without 
returning it. He once induced a negro man to be 
innoculated for the small-pox and he died. On his 
death-bed Mr. Laurens told him that he" would give his 
children their freedom in consequence of his compliance 
with the unfortunate directions of his master. This 
promise Mr. Laurens faithfully executed after the death 
of the unfortunate man. Mr. Laurens's treatment of 
his slaves was highly commendable. He made them 
work properly, and enforced amongst them decency, 
order and morality ; he fed and clothed well, and 
freely contributed to their comforts. Nor did he 
neglect their religious instruction. He was strictly a 
religious man himself — a constant attendifnt at church 
on the Sabbath, both morning and evening, and a 
regular communicant. 

Mr. Laurens left one son living at his death, and I 
think two daughters — one married Doctor Ramsay, the 
historian, and the other Governor Charles Pinckney, 
who was Minister at the Court of Madrid, and contrib- 
uted largely to the formation of the Constitution of the 
United States in the Federal Convention. Governor 
Pinckney left one son, Henry Laurens Pinckney, who 
was a member of Congress and Speaker of the House of 
Representatives of South Carolina. This son, with 
whom I served several years in the Legislature, bore a 
striking likeness to his grandfather, Henry Laurens, in 
his face, as the grandfather is represented in his like- 



HENRY LAURENS. 427 

nesses. Governor Robert Y. Hayne's first wife was a 
granddaughter of Henry Laurens and the daughter of 
Governor Charles Pinckney. 

Mr. Laurens died in his sixty-ninth year, on Decem- 
ber 8, 1792. He lived to see his country free and 
independent, the adoption of the Constitution of the 
United States, and the wise administration of the Gov- 
ernment for three years, under the administration of 
Washington as President of the Republic. Well may 
South Carolina be proud of Henry Laurens as one of 
her sons, eminent as a patriot and statesman, endowed 
with Roman virtue and Christian piety. 

In his will he imperatively directs his son to wrap his 
body in twelve yards of tow cloth and burn it till it is 
entirely consumed, and then to collect his bones and 
ashes and bury them where he saw proper. This 
request was faithfully executed by his only surviving 
son, who married a Miss Rutledge, and had a large 
family of children. 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

This distinguished statesman and patriot of the Revo- 
lution belonged to one of the oldest, most numerous 
and respectable families of New York and New Jersey. 
Their great ancestor, Richard Morris, was a distinguished 
leader in the armies of Oliver Cromwell, and in conse- 
quence of the restoration of Charles the Second, he 
came to America, and purchased an estate near Harlem, 
containing three or four thousand acres, about ten miles 
from the city of New York. This extensive domain 
was invested with manorial privileges by the original 
grant of the Governor, and called Morrisania. Richard 
Morris died in 1673, leaving an only son named Lewis 
Morris, an infant, and an orphan, his mother having 
died a few months before his father. His uncle, Lewis 
Morris, immediately came to America, and settled at 
Morrisania, taking charge of his nephew and his estate. 

In the life of Gouverneur Morris by Jared Sparks, 
in three volumes, it is said that " Lewis, the nephew, 
was, in his early life, wild and erratic." Having dis- 
pleased his uncle by some youthful extravagance or 
folly, he ran off to the West Indies, and there supported 
himself as a scrivener. He, however, soon returned 
again to his uncle and was received kindly. His uncle, 
having no children, made him his heir. He became 
distinguished, and was Chief Justice of New York, and 
a popular leader of the people in their Assembly in 
opposition to their Governors. He was also at one 
time a Judge of the Supreme Court of New 
Jersey and Governor of that Province. He had twelve 
children, four sons and eight daughters. We are not 
informed by Mr. Sparks who his fruitful wife was,, 
nor the maiden name of his mother. Two of his sons, 
428 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 429 

Lewis and Robert Hunter, were distinguished. The 
one was Judge of Vice-Admiralty for New York, and 
the other Chief Justice of New Jersey, and Deputy 
Governor of Pennsylvania. 

Lewis, the Judge of Vice- Admiralty, was the father 
of Gouverneur Morris, the subject of this sketch. He 
had four sons and four daughters. All of his sons were 
distinguished. His eldest, Lewis, was a signer of 
the Declaration of American Independence. Stoats 
Lang Morris, the second son, was an officer of the 
British army, a member of the British Parliament, and 
married the Duchess of Gordon. Richard, the third 
son, was Chief Justice of New York. Gouverneur 
Morris, the fourth son, was by a second marriage, which 
marriage displeased very much the family, and especially 
the elder sons. Here again we are not told who the 
mother of Gouverneur Morris was. The reader always 
wishes to know who the mother of a great man was. 
But she was left ample means by her husband, and 
applied herself most diligently to the management of 
her affairs and the education of her son. In his will 
the father directs that his son, Gouverneur Morris, " may 
have the best education that is to be had in England or 
America." 

The father of Gouverneur Morris must have been 
an eccentric man, from an extract of his will given in 
Smith's History of New Jersey. He says in his will, 
" My desire is that nothing be mentioned about me, not 
so much as a line in a newspaper to tell the world I am 
dead." It seems that his father, the Governor of New 
Jersey, and grandfather of Gouverneur Morris, was also 
eccentric and whimsical in his will. In this last solemn 
document he says : " I forbid any rings or scarfs to be 
given at my funeral, or any man to be paid for preach- 
ing a funeral sermon over me. Those who survive me 
will commend or blame my conduct in life as they think 
fit, and I am not for paying any man for doing either ; 
but if any man, whether churchman or dissenter, in or 



430 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

not in priests' orders, is inclined to say anything on that 
occasion, he may, if my executors think fit, to admit him 
to it. I would not have mourning worn for me by any 
of my descendants, for I shall die in a good old age ; 
and when the Divine Providence calls me hence, I die 
when I should die, and no relation of mine ought to 
mourn because I do so, but perhaps may mourn to pay 
the shopkeeper for his goods, should they comply with 
what I think the common folly of such an example." 

Gouverneur Morris was borne at Morrisania January 
31st, 1752. His father died when he was twelve years 
old. " When quite a child," says his biographer, " he 
was put to live in the family of a French teacher at 
New Rochelle, where he acquired the basis of the 
French language, which in after life he wrote and spoke 
with nearly as much fluency and correctness as his na- 
tive tongue." He graduated at King's, now Columbia 
College, in the city of New York, at the age of sixteen. 
His graduating oration was on " Wit and Beauty," 
which won the applause of both grave and gay. It was 
a happy subject for a commencement audience, and all 
the elite and fashionable of the city were present to hear 
it. In speaking of wit, he says : " This choice gift is 
one of Heaven's best boons to social man, it makes the 
charm of an agreeable companion, it enlivens conversa- 
tion, promotes innocent mirth, and banishes that sable 
fiend, melancholy, the restless haunter of our inmost 
thoughts." In regard to Beauty he says : — " The forms 
of beauty, as they exist in the physical and moral world, 
have been the chief means of civilizing the human race, 
and bringing man into a state of social order and hap- 
piness." A pretty good philosophical idea for a boy of 
sixteen. 

His self-confidence, says Mr. Sparks, was one of the 
remarkable features of Gouverneur Morris's character 
through life. " No man had this power in a greater 
deo-ree, nor exercised it with more skill and effect. 
He has often been heard to say that in his intercourse 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 431 

with men he never knew the sensation of fear or inferi- 
ority, of embarrassment or awkwardness." This is a 
very remarkable expression to come from a well-bred 
and accomplished gentleman. Judge Huger knew 
Gouverneur Morris intimately, and I think there was a 
connection between their families. He has frequently 
said to me that he was one of the most graceful and 
accomplished gentlemen he ever met, although he had 
but one leg; and was a most interesting companion. 
He had lived abroad a great deal, and was a long time 
American Minister at Paris during the French Revolu- 
tion. He had seen much of the highest and most aris- 
tocratic society of England and France. He had asso- 
ciated with the ablest and most learned and most tal- 
ented men of Europe. That he never should have felt 
the sensation of fear or inferiority, of embarrassment, or 
awkwardness in this intercourse with the world, is what we 
can hardly believe. He must have been more or less 
than a well-bred, sensible gentleman. 

Gouverneur Morris commenced the study of law with 
Chief Justice Smith, the historian of New York, and 
whilst pursuing his studies he took the degree of Mas- 
ter of Arts, and delivered an oration on " Love.' 7 In 
this oration he says most truly and most beautifully, 
"It is not a mere something we are unacquainted with 
that renders our natal soil so peculiarly agreeable, it is 
our friends, our relations, parents, children, laws, reli- 
gion. Aided by the force of these considerations, reason 
impresses the love of country upon the heart of every 
social being. There is some secret principle within us, 
some innate tenderness for that spot where we first drew 
our breath, first saw the light, the scene of our infant 
joys, some gentle effusion of divinity congenial with the 
soul which enforces it far beyond reason." 

At the commencement of the American Revolution 
Gouverneur Morris was a bold and fearless advocate of 
independence. He wrote several able articles on 
Finance when he was only eighteen years old. He was 



432 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

a member of the New York Congress for three years 
immediately preceding the Declaration of Independence. 
The people of New York were less inclined to separate 
from Great Britain than those of any other province. 
They hung back a long time, and it was only the 
influence of such men as Chief Justice Jay, Alexander 
Hamilton, the Livingstons, Clintons and Morrises that 
brought them up to the fighting point. Gouverneur 
Morris made a very long and able speech in the New 
York Congress in favor of immediate independence. 
He was on the committee which drew up the New 
York Constitution in 1776. 

In 1777 he was elected a member of the Continental 
Congress. He served on several of the most important 
committees, and one on which the basis of a peace was 
reported and afterwards adopted by the English and 
American Commissioners. 

Whilst residing in Philadelphia he was thrown from 
his carriage and his leg was so badly fractured that it 
had to be cut off. Afterwards, when in Paris, he says 
that the enquiry was frequently made, and once by 
Madame de Stael, in what battle he had lost his limb ? 
He had to confess that it was not lost in battle. But 
on one occasion he was riding in his carriage on the 
boulevards of Paris when the Sans Cullotte Republicans 
surrounded him and cried out, " Aristocrat ! aristocrat !" 
He saw there was great danger of being torn to pieces 
by the mob, and he brought into requisition that self- 
possession of which he boasted. Thrusting his wooden 
leg out of the carriage he said, " You call me an aristo- 
crat who lost his leg fighting for American liberty!" 
This satisfied their love of " equality and fraternity," 
and they huzzaed for the American citizen. 

In 1780 he was chosen by Robert Morris as assistant 
financier for the United States, and continued in that 
office for three or four years. In 1787 he was elected 
a member of the Federal Convention by the State of 
Pennsylvania for the purpose of framing a new const i- 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 433 

tution for the United States, and was placed on the 
committee which drafted the same. Mr. Madison says 
that instrument received its finishing touch from the pen 
of Gouverneur Morris. He was an important and able 
and active member of that body throughout its session. 

The mother of Gouverneur Morris continued to 
reside at Morrisania during the Revolutionary war 
which was within the British lines after the capture of 
New York City. She had not seen her son for three 
years and became very ill. Gouverneur heard of her 
illness and her wish to see him. Thereupon he applied 
to the British commander for permission to visit his 
mother, which was granted. He then asked permission 
of the authorities in Philadelphia to go to his mother's. 
This produced quite an excitement, as it was well known 
his mother was a loyalist. The opposition to his going 
within the lines of the enemy became sostrong that he had 
to abandon his contemplated visit, and said he would 
sacrifice the feelings of nature on the altar of his country. 
He did not see his mother till after the close of the war, 
and an absence of seven years. She died in 1767, and 
by her death he was entitled to ten thousand dollars 
to be paid out of the estate. Morrisania, the family 
residence, was bequeathed by his father to Stoats Lang 
Morris, who resided in England, and was a Brigadier- 
General and a member of the British Parliament. He 
came over to America and sold Morrisania to his 
brother, Gouverneur Morris. 

Gouverneur Morris was a very young man when he 
was elected a member of the Continental Congress — not 
more than twenty-five years. And yet we find him 
placed at the head of several of the most important 
committees and sent on a commission in the winter of 
1777 to the American army, then at Valley Forge, to 
inquire into its condition and make suggestions for its 
improvement and efficiency. He there formed the 
acquaintance of General Washington and spent several 
months with him. A mutual respect and attachment 



434 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

sprung up between them, which continued throughout 
their lives. An interesting and important correspond- 
ence is given us, between General Washington and Mr. 
Morris, by the biographer of the latter. Mr. Sparks 
also publishes, in his life of Morris, a very confidential 
correspondence between Morris and General Greene. 
In one of his letters to the General he says, " I say if 
the war continues, or if it does not continue, I have no 
hope, no expectation that the government will acquire 
force : and I will go further, I have no hope that our 
Union can subsist except in the form of an absolute 
monarchy, and this does not seem to connect with the 
taste and temper of the people." 

The above expression was made in 1781, and Judge 
Johnson, in his life of General Greene, adduces it to 
show that Gouverneur Morris was a monarchist. At 
that time, and for several years afterwards, there were 
a great many of the most distinguished and sterling 
patriots of the Revolution who entertained similar sen- 
timents. Washington himself expressed his doubts as 
to the ability of the American people to maintain the 
Republic which they had established ; but he said he 
would sacrifice his life to see the experiment fairly tried. 
All wished a republican form of government, and it is 
doing injustice to those who doubted the experiment, to 
charge them with being monarchists. The most ardent 
friends of a measure are very often doubtful of its success. 

After the war was over Mr. Morris was disposed, like 
Henry Laurens, Francis. Marion and other stern, heroic 
patriots, to forgive the tories and refugees, and let them 
come back and settle amongst us. Morris said, writing 
to a refugee friend, " I perfectly coincide with you in 
opinion, that America is the only country in the world 
whose social state admits of the greatest portion of hap- 
piness. Such being my sentiment, I have commiserated 
the fate of those who are exiled from among us. My 
political ideas are also far from lessening the regret, 
because I see no necessity for the measure. Were this 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 435 

a monarchy I would subscribe to it freely, because the 
deposed and reigning families must each have heredi- 
tary friendships and antipathies among the people, but 
in a Republic it cannot be so. The metaphysical idea 
of the State does not so inhere in any particular body 
as to give room for an exercise of the dissocial feel- 
ings. We may love the country though we hate the 
king, but it is not in nature to hate the country, nor 
can we long dislike the government when that gov- 
ernment is ourselves." 

In 1788 Gouverneur Morris went to France on busi- 
ness connected with the firm of Robert Morris and him- 
self. He carried letters of introduction from General 
Washington and others, which gave him access to the 
highest and most aristocratic Parisian circles. He was 
also acquainted with all the French officers who had 
served in America. It would seem from his interesting 
diary, that his society was courted and cherished by 
the nobility and royal family of France, as well as the 
learned and scientific. He was in Paris at the com- 
mencement of the French Revolution, and took an 
active part in advising with General Lafayette and 
other leaders of that terrible political storm. He saw 
the dangers ahead, and warned both sides against 
them. He gave most wholesome advice to his old friend, 
General Lafayette, which he did not take, and which 
produced a temporary coolness between them. He also 
advised with the King and Queen, the Duke and 
Duchess of Orleans, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, Necker, 
Madame de Stael, and others. He saved the life of 
Madame Lafayette, and, had his advice been taken, 
would have saved the lives of the King, Queen and 
royal family. He furnished money to Louis Phillippe 
to make his escape to America. He also placed a 
large sum of money at the command of Lafayette and 
his wife when they were imprisoned. 

I will give a few extracts from his diary : " Went 
to Madame Chattellux, Madame de Sequer, and M. de 



436 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

Paisequieu arrived shortly after. In a few minutes the 
Duchess of Orleans, and then more company. The 
Duchess is affable, and handsome enough to punish 
the Duke for his irregularities." 

"March 2, 1789.— At three the Marshal de Castries 
calls and takes me to dine with Monsieur and Mad- 
ame Necker. In the saloon we found Madame. She 
seems to be a woman of sense and somewhat of the 
masculine in her character. A little before dinner, 
Monsieur enters. He has the look and manner of 
the counting-house, and being dressed in embroidered 
velvet, he contrasts strongly with his habiliments. His 
bow, his address say, ' I am the man.' " 

" April 3d. — I go to the Louvre on an engagement 
with Madame de Flahaut to see the statues and paint- 
ings. She is in bed, and her brother-in-law in the 
room with her, so that it appears, as she says, that she 
has forgotten her engagement to me." 

It was the custom in Paris for ladies to receive gen- 
tlemen in their bed-chambers whilst dressing. 

" If Monsieur Necker is a very great man I am de- 
ceived; and yet this is a rash judgment. If he is not 
a laborious man, I am also deceived. 

" I cannot help feeling the mortification which the 
poor Queen meets with, for I see only the woman ; and 
it seems unmanly to treat a woman with unkindness." 

" June 5. Go to Mr. Houdons. He has been wait- 
ing for me a long time. I stand for his statue of Gen- 
eral Washington, being the humble employment of a 
manakin. This is. literally taking the advice of St. 
Paul to be all things to all men." It is said Gouverneur 
Morris resembled Washington in his person. The same 
height, shape and bearing. 

" At dinner I sit next to Monsieur Lafayette, who 
tells me that I injure the cause, for that my sentiments 
are continually quoted against the good party. I seize 
this opportunity to tell him that I am opposed to the 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 437 

Democracy from regard to liberty. That I see they are 
going headlong to destruction and would fain stop them 
if I could." 

" July 14. While sitting here a person comes and 
announces the taking of the Bastile, the Governor of 
which is beheaded, and provost Des March ands is killed 
and also beheaded. They are carrying the heads in 
triumph through the city and dragging their naked 
bodies after them." 

"Sept. 17. Go to Mr. Jefferson's. The Duke de 
Rochesecault comes in from the States General, and at 
half past four, Lafayette, when we sit down to dinner. 
Jefferson at that time was American Minister to the 
Court of France and had his daughters with him." 

"Oct. 6. Paris is all in a tumult. The Queen obliged 
to fly from the bed in her undress with her stockings 
in her hand, to the King's chamber for protection, being 
pursued by the Paissardees. 

" I think that in my life I never saw such exuberant 
vanity as that of Madame de Stael upon the subject of 
her father. She said wisdom is very rare, and that she 
knows of no one who possesses it in a superlative degree 
excepting her father. 

" Every man is dear to himself. All the world knew 
Mirabeau to be a rascal whtn Lafayette connected him- 
self with him. Mirabeau had sworn that he would ruin 
Lafayette. 

"The Duchess of Orleans says she is ruined and 
reduced from 450,000 to 200,000 livres per annum. 
She tells me she cannot give any good dinners, but if I 
will come and fast with her she will be glad to see me." 
Poor woman with only 200,000 livres per annum ! 

"April 1, 1790. Mirabeau died this day. The 
funeral was attended on the fourth by more than one 
hundred thousand persons. It is a vast tribute paid to 
superior talents. Vices both degrading and detestable 
marked this extraordinary being. 



438 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

" This morning I wait on the Duchess of Orleans, and 
breakfast in her chamber with Madame de Chautelleux. 
She reads to me her letters to and from the Duke 
(Egalite) and tells me the history of their breach. She 
says what the world attributes to fondness in her was 
merely discretion. She hoped to bring him to a more 
decent and orderly behavior." This is a pretty confes- 
sion for a wife to make to a stranger, and that wife the 
mother of Louis Phillippe, King of France. 

Gouverneur Morris says the first time he saw Talley- 
rand, Bishop of Auteen, he took him for "a sly, cool, 
cunning, ambitious and malicious man." 

I regret that space will not permit me to make further 
extracts from this most interesting diary. Whilst in 
Paris Mr. Morris was appointed by Washington to go 
to England and inquire why the treaty with the United 
States was not carried out. He was then appointed 
plenipotentiary to France in the place of Jefferson. He 
remained at the French Court for several years, became 
offensive to the savage Republicans after the murder of 
their king, and was recalled. He then spent several 
years in travelling over Europe, and returned to 
America after an absence of ten years. He was imme- 
diately elected to the United States Senate by the New 
York Legislature, and took a high and commanding 
position in that body. Although a Federalist, he was, 
like Alexander Hamilton, in favor of Jefferson's elec- 
tion over Aaron Burr. 

In 1809, when Mr. Morris was bordering on three score 
years, he was married for the first time to " Miss Anne 
Carey Randolph, a lady accomplished in mind and per- 
son, and belonging to one of the ancient and most 
respectable families of Virginia. To this connection, 
although formed late in life, he often refers in his private 
correspondence as a source of continued satisfaction and 
happiness." In July, 1816, he wrote an intimate friend 
in Europe, " I lead a quiet and, more than most of my 
fellow-mortals, a happy life. The woman to whom I 



GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 439 

am married, has much genius, has been well educated, 
and possesses, with an affectionate temper, industry and 
a love of order. Our little boy grows finely, and is 
generally admired." 

There is a tradition connected with this marriage 
which was told me by one of Mr. Morris's relations, 
and is as follows : ( )ne day at Morrisania, Mr. Morris 
sent for a few of his relations, and told them he was 
going to be married. They were greatly astonished, 
and inquired to whom ? He stepped back into another 
room, and led out Miss Randolph, who was at that time 
his housekeeper, with her sleeves rolled up, and presented 
her as his betrothed. But there is another tradition 
connected with this marriage still more remarkable. 

This tradition came to the writer through Colonel Wil- 
liam C. Preston. Miss Randolph had been traduced. 
She left Virginia in disgrace, and wrote Mr. Morris 
reminding him that she had seen him at her father's, and 
begged to become his housekeeper. He said to her when 
they met, " It will not do for you to become my house- 
keeper without being my wife." Thereupon he married 
her. A part of the same tradition is, that John Ran- 
dolph of Roanoke, her relative, after visiting Mr. 
Morris, wrote him the whole scandal. In reply to this 
cruel and infamous letter, Mr. Morris wrote her un- 
natural relative a long withering letter, reminding him 
that he had once sworn to his belief of her innocence 
in court. Colonel Preston had seen a copy of this letter, 
and said it surpassed anything he had ever read for 
rebuke, invective and withering sarcasm. 

Mr. Morris had the honor of first suggesting the 
great Erie canal, connecting the waters of the lakes with 
the Hudson River. His official and private corres- 
pondence, with his speeches in the United States Senate, 
are published in two volumes, and show that he was a 
most wise statesman, a beautiful and interesting writer, 
and a sterling patriot. In his person Mr. Morris was 
tall and well-proportioned, and of a commanding figure, 



440 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 

his features oval, regular, handsome and expressive, his- 
demeanor frank and dignified. 

Madame de Damos, a French lady, intimately ac- 
quainted with Mr. Morris during his residence in 
France, says, in her sketch of him, " I attempt to 
delineate the character of a man who so little resembles 
other men that one should hardly say anything of him, 
which has already been said of them. Like others, 
however, he has virtues, defects and talents, but their 
nature, their use, mixture and results, form a whole 
entirely different from anything I have seen. Were I 
called upon to distinguish him by a single trait, I 
should say he is good ; it is this which gives him the 
first place in all honest hearts, and entitles him to their 
lasting admiration and gratitude." 

Mr. Morris died November 6, 1816, sixty- four years 
old, and left a remarkable will which should put to 
shame many a husband. He gives his wife his whole 
estate of Morrisania, with all his stock, carriages, plate,, 
furniture and twenty-six hundred dollars per annum 
during her life, and if she married, six hundred dollars 
more per annum " to defray the increased expenditures 
which may attend that connection." How different 
from other husbands. She was a young woman, had 
made him a good and affectionate wife, and he was dis- 
posed to provide for her handsomely, whether she re- 
mained his widow, or made some other husband happy 
by becoming his wife. But she never married the 
second time, and no doubt this very provision endeared 
to her the memory of her deceased husband as it should 
have done. This provision in his will proves what 
Madame de Damos said of him, he so little resembled 
other men." 



WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 

South Carolina has produced several sods bearing the 
name of Drayton, whom she has delighted to honor, 
and who have honored her by their talents, patriotism 
and statesmanship. William Drayton, LL. D., was 
born in 1733, and whilst South Carolina was a Province 
of Great Britain, he was appointed Chief Justice of 
Florida. During the Revolutionary war he was sus- 
pended from his high office by royal authority, no doubt 
on account of his sympathy for his native State and the 
cause in which the American Colonies were then 
strufffflins:. He returned to South Carolina and was 
appointed successively Judge of Admiralty, Associate 
Justice of the State, and a Judge under the Federal 
Government. He had been educated for the Bar, in 
the Middle Temple, London. His son, William Dray- 
ton, was a distinguished lawyer, and for many years at 
the head of the Charleston Bar. He was successively a 
member of the Legislature, Mayor of the city, a Repre- 
sentative in Congress and President of the United 
States Bank. His pure honor, high-toned feelings, and 
great ability, have endeared his memory to every 
Carolinian. His son, Thomas F. Drayton, a graduate 
of West Point, was a Confederate General during our 
late civil war. John Drayton, the son of William 
Henry Drayton, the subject of this sketch, was Governor 
of the State of South Carolina, a Doctor of Laws and 
the author of the " Memoirs of the American Revolu- 
tion," in two volumes. 

The Drayton family was distinguished in North- 

hamptonshire, England ; and Thomas Drayton, a 

descendant of that family, came to South Carolina in 

1671, with Sir John Yeoman and others, the first 

441 



442 WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 

settlers of the Province. His son, John Drayton, was 
the proprietor of "Drayton Hall," on Ashley River, 
near Charleston. William Henry Drayton was his son, 
born in September, 1742, at Drayton Hall. When he 
was eleven years old, he went to England to be edu- 
cated, in company with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
and Thomas Pinckney, the sons of Chief Justice 
Pinckney of South Carolina. He prosecuted his educa- 
tion for eight years at Westminster school in London, 
and then entered Oxford University where he remained 
three years, and was then called home by his father. 
He continued to prosecute his studies, however, after 
his return to Carolina with great industry. He made 
himself thoroughly acquainted with ancient and modern 
history and the law of nations. He studied, too, with 
great interest, the English Constitution and the rights 
of the colonies under it and their charters. His father 
being a gentleman of large estate, and William Henry, 
being his eldest son and heir under the law of 
primogeniture then in force in South Carolina, he did 
not intend to bring him up to any profession. But the 
activity of his mind, his talents and thirst for knowl- 
edge, made him unwilling to settle down as a quiet 
country gentleman. When he was twenty-two years 
old he married a young lady of great beauty and 
accomplishments and the possessor of a large fortune. 

William Henry Drayton was a fine scholar and 
accomplished writer, and he soon began to publish 
political essays and pamphlets. This involved him in 
a political controversy with that sterling prime mover 
of the American Revolution in South Carolina, Chris- 
topher Gadsden. It is very likely he was, in 1769, 
more moderate in his views than Mr. Gadsden. He 
returned to England with his family, and was intro- 
duced at the British Court, and noticed by Lord Sand- 
wich, prime minister, and others of the nobility. He 
was appointed by the King a privy counsellor of South 
Carolina, and afterwards one of the assistant judges of 



WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 443 

the province. But these honors did not in the slightest 
alienate his love of liberty and devotion to the rights of 
his native country. The Continental Congress being 
about to assemble in 1774, he wrote and published a 
political pamphlet addressed to that body, in which " he 
chalked out," says Dr. Ramsay in his History of South 
Carolina, " the line of conduct afterwards adopted by 
Congress." This caused his uncle, Lieutenant-Governor 
Bull, to remove him from His Majesty's council, and 
he was soon superseded as one of the assistant judges of 
the province. 

In 1775, when the council of safety was organized, 
William Henry Drayton was one of its most vigilant 
members, and chairman of the secret committee. He 
caused the provincial arsenal and powder magazines to 
be seized and held for the country. He also went with 
two or tliree others and took possession of the mails 
which had just arrived from England. In this way the 
patriots got in possession of much important informa- 
tion in regard to the intentions of the British ministry. 
These were bold measures on the part of Mr. Drayton, 
and of great service to the country. 

When the Provincial Congress convened in 1775, 
Mr. Drayton was elected president of that body, and 
continued in that important station during the existence 
of the congress. As president, he issued an order for 
opposing the British navy and garrisoning Fort Johnson. 
He and the Rev. Mr. Tenant were appointed to visit the 
upper country and explain to the people the nature of 
the controversy between Great Britain and the colonies. 
This mission they performed with great success, and at 
Ninety-Six prevented a collision between the Whigs and 
Tories. The latter were assembled in great force under 
Colonel Fletchal. 

In March, 1776, before the Declaration of American 
Independence, the State of South Carolina adopted a 
Constitution and organized a new government. Mr. 
Drayton was elected Chief Justice of the State, and 



444 WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 

opened his court in Charleston with an elaborate charge 
to the Grand Jury on the condition of the country. This 
able and full charge attracted great public attention both 
in America and England. He declared " that George 
III., King of Great Britain, has abdicated the govern- 
ment, and that the throne is thereby vacant ; that he has 
no authority over us, and we owe no obedience to him." 
This bold declaration was in March, 1776, four months 
before the Declaration of Independence. No one was 
more active and zealous in the cause of his country than 
Mr. Drayton ; and perhaps no one did more to encour- 
age and animate the timid and wavering. In order to 
cross the Rubicon and set England at defiance, he took 
command of a boat, and fired the first gun at the Brit- 
ish vessels in the harbor of Charleston. He wished to 
make the issue, and leave no ground for the timid and 
wavering to retreat on and hope for a compromise. 

In October, 1777, the Chief Justice delivered another 
admirable charge to the Grand Jury. In it he took 
occasion to boast of what South Carolina had done, by 
way of encouraging the people in the future not to relax 
in their exertions or tarnish the honor already achieved. 
He said, " We were the first in America who publicly 
denounced Lord North's conciliatory motion inadmissi- 
ble. We raised the first regular forces on the continent, 
and for a term of three years. We first deslared the 
cause of taking up arms. We originated the Council of 
Safety. We were among the first who led the way to 
Independence by establishing a constitutional govern- 
ment. We were the first who made a law authorizing 
the capture of British vessels without distinction. We 
alone have victoriously pierced through and reduced a 
powerful nation of Indians." 

The President, John Rutledge, being about to leave 
the State, in December, 1777, appointed William Henry 
Drayton President of the State during his absence. 
This he was authorized to do by an act of the Provin- 
cial Congress. In 1778 Mr. Drayton was elected by the 



WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 445 

General Assembly of South Carolina, a member of the 
Continental Congress ; and he was a most active and 
useful member of that body till his death in 1779. He 
opposed the conciliatory bills of Parliament which had 
been sent to Lord Howe. He published a pamphlet on 
this subject " full of argument, ridicule and point,"? Dr. 
Ramsay says, in his History of South Carolina. " This 
is supposed to be the last offering made by his pen in 
favor of America. He was a statesman of great deci- 
sion and energy, and one of the ablest political writers 
Carolina has produced." 

The conduct of General Charles Lee at the battle of 
Monmouth came before Congress, and Mr. Drayton 
expressed himself in very strong terms against General 
Lee. He had previously in his charge to the Grand 
Jury commented severely on General Lee's conduct in 
being captured by the British in New Jersey. In conse- 
quence of this General Lee spoke to Mr. Morris and 
Mr. Hutson in most denouncing terms of Mr. Drayton, 
who reported his conversation to Drayton. He wrote 
General Lee if he could be satisfied that he had done 
him injustice — " those principles of honor which must 
make General Lee feel an injury, made him feel even an 
idea of having done an injury — and impelled him to 
make reparation where it was due." General Lee sent 
him a challenge, which Drayton refused to accept or 
read. He said that although duelling was sanctiond by 
the military, it was not by the judiciary, and as Chief 
Justice of South Carolina, "it would be, in the eyes of 
the world, a public outrage on government, society and 
common decency, for him to accept his cordial invitation 
to meet him armed with pistols and sword." 

It is said of Mr. Drayton that " his manners were 
elegant and gentlemanly, his virtues many — his faults 
few. His literary attainments, acquired by good talents 
and an excellent education, are well known here and in 
Europe, where several of his political papers have been 
admired and read in different languages." He was, 



446 WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON. 

judging from his likenesses, a very handsome man, as 
well as " an elegant gentleman with polished manners." 

From the time Mr. Drayton was elected a member of 
the Continental Congress till his death, he kept a minute 
record of all the proceedings of Congress, and copied all 
their important state papers. This manuscript at his 
death, in Philadelphia, was considered of too secret and 
sacred a character to fall into the hands of his family, 
and by them be published to the world ; and were con- 
sequently destroyed by his political friends after his 
death. It would seem that this was a most unwarranted 
act, and in character with that breach of trust committed 
by the poet Moore in burning Lord Byron's manuscript 
or memoir of his own life. His history of the Ameri- 
can Revolution down to 1779 escaped the destruction of 
the others, and was published by his son, Governor 
Drayton, in 1821. 

Chief Justice Drayton was eminent as a patriot and 
writer as well as a statesman. He was likewise distin- 
guished through life for his zeal, energy and purity of 
honor as a public man and as a private gentleman. 



CHARLES PINCKNEY. 

No statesman in South Carolina ever filled as many 
high and important positions in the State and Federal 
Government as Charles Pinckney, the subject of this 
brief memoir. He was four times elected Governor of 
South Carolina. He served in both the Colonial and 
State Legislatures for many years. He was appointed 
by the Legislature to represent the State in the old 
Continental Congress. He was a distinguished member 
of the Federal Convention which framed the Consti- 
tution of the United States. He was an active member 
of the State Convention which adopted that Constitu- 
tion. The people of Charleston elected him a member 
of the House of Representatives in Congress. He 
presided over the State Convention which framed the 
Constitution of 1790. He was elected by the Legisla- 
ture United States Senator. President Jefferson ap- 
pointed him Minister to Spain, and he negotiated a 
treaty by which the Spanish Government released all 
claim which she had to the magnificent territory ceded 
by France to the United States. Where is the name of 
another statesman in South Carolina whose record is so 
full of honors and distinctions? 

In my sketch of General Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, already published, I gave some account of the 
Pinckney family in South Carolina and Maryland. 
William Pinkney, the great and accomplished states- 
man, lawyer and orator of Annapolis, was a branch of 
the South Carolina family. Thomas Pinckney, the 
progenitor of the family in South Carolina, emigrated 
from Lincolnshire, England, to Charleston, in 1687, a 
few years after the first settlement of South Carolina. 
He was a gentleman of large wealth, and built a mag- 
447 



448 CHARLES PINCKNEY. 

nificent brick house in the city, which is still standing 
and now nearly two hundred years old. He was the 
father of Charles Pinckney, Chief Justice of the Colony 
under Royal Government, grandfather of that illustrious 
patriot and statesman, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 
and great-grandfather of Governor Charles Pinckney, 
the subject of my present sketch. General Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney and Governor Charles Pinckney 
were second cousins. . In politics they differed widely, 
— the one was a high-toned and honored Federalist, the 
other, was the prince of Democracy. This difference in 
politics produced an alienation in their families which 
grew into a contempt on the part of the proud Federalist 
for his Democratic kinsman. The tradition is that the 
family escutcheon of the General was purer and brighter 
than that of the Governor. For high-toned honor, 
firmness and exalted patriotism, General Charles Cotes- 
worth Pinckney had no superior. 

In the excited and bitter contest between the Repub- 
licans and Federalists for the Presidency in 1800, Gov- 
ernor Charles Pinckney was active in the support of 
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr against John Adams 
and his kinsman, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. He 
supported the administration of Jefferson with great 
zeal and ability while he was in Congress, and was re- 
warded for his fidelity to the great Democratic chief 
by an appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
Court of Madrid. Although Jefferson declared in his 
Inaugural Address that " we are all Federalists, all 
Republicans" yet he took good care, as all of his suc- 
cessors in the Presidency have since done, to appoint 
none to high Federal offices except his warm political 
friends and supporters. 

Governor Charles Pinckney was born in Charleston 
in 1758, and was educated for the Bar, but he soon be- 
came so much absorbed in politics that he quickly aban- 
doned his profession. It is stated that he was elected a 
member of the Legislature under the Colonial Govern- 



CHARLES PINCKNEY. 449 

merit. If so, he could not have been twenty-one years 
old when he was elected. South Carolina threw off the 
Royal Government in 1776 and formed a State Consti- 
tution for her independent government. Charles Pinck- 
ney was born in 1758, and consequently only eighteen 
or nineteen years old when American independence was 
declared. At the fall of Charleston he was taken a 
prisoner and remained in captivity till the close of the 
war. I am not informed as to the part he took in the 
Revolutionary War previous to his capture by the sur- 
render of Charleston ; but there is no question that he 
was an active and zealous Whig, or he would not have 
been retained as a prisoner by the British Government. 
In the list of confiscated estates in South Carolina I see 
that of Charles Pinckney, and have always supposed 
that he was the father of Governor Charles Pinckney. 
It often occurred in that Revolutionary contest, as in 
all others, that fathers and sons espoused different sides. 
The old were timid and prudent, and the young bold 
and ardent, reckless of danger, and bent on glory and 
distinction. The old had fortunes to lose, which the 
young had not. But it is the duty of all, in a political 
revolution, to take sides with their country, right or 
wrong. Thousands and hundreds of thousands acted 
on this principle in our late civil war, North and South. 
Governor Charles Pinckney married the daughter 
of that old Roman in character. Henry Laurens, 
President of the Continental Congress, Minister to Hol- 
land, a captive State prisoner in the Tower of London 
for several years, and one of the commissioners with 
Franklin, Adams and Lee, who formed the treaty of 
American Independence with Great Britain. Governor 
Charles Pinckney was the father of Henry Laurens 
Pinckney, a distinguished writer and statesman of 
recent times. He was also the father of Governor 
Robert Y. Hayne's first wife. He died in 1824, in the 
sixty-sixth year of his age. His last political honor 
was achieved over Judge Huger in 1819 for a seat in 



450 CHARLES PINCKNEY. 

Congress. The Judge was then a young man, and no 
doubt his Federalism, and the Republicanism of Gover- 
nor Pinckney told in the contest. 

But although Governor Charles Pinckney was the 
prince of democracy in his latter days, he was not so 
much of a democrat in his younger days. In the 
Federal convention which framed the Constitution of 
the United States, he opposed the election of members 
of Congress by the people, and advocated their appoint- 
ment by the different State Legislatures. This was a 
most grievous error for a democrat, one who relied on 
the virtue and wisdom of the people for self-government 
to have committed. 

Governor Charles Pinckney, as I have already said, 
had more high honors and distinctions cast on him than 
any other South Carolinian. Since his death one honor 
has been attached to him far and near, to which he was 
not entitled. It is said that his "Plan of a Federal 
Constitution," submitted to the convention on the 29th 
of May, 1787, was the model from which was framed 
the Constitution of the United States. This is clearly 
and unquestionably an error, and will appear most 
obviously to any one who will carefully read " the 
Madison Papers," giving an account of the debates in 
the Federal convention and Mr. Madison's comments 
on the same. 

Governor Pinckney's " Plan of a Federal Constitu- 
tion," as now published, was not the paper submitted 
by him to the convention on the 29th of May. It 
contains principles and clauses which he opposed and 
denounced in the convention time and again after his 
plan had been submitted. It is absurd to suppose that 
a member of the convention would oppose in debate the 
very important principles of government which he him- 
self had previously submitted for the adoption of the 
convention. The plan now published as Governor 
Pinckney's was evidently copied, with slight alterations, 
from the report of the committee appointed to draft a 



CHAKLES PINCKNEY. 451 

Federal Constitution. This was after the convention 
had been discussing for mouths a plan of Federal Union. 
There is no doubt that Governor Pinckney did submit, 
on the 29th of May, a form of government for the 
United States, but that paper is lost, and the principles 
it contained are unknown. Edmund Randolph of 
Virginia submitted, on the same day, his celebrated 
resolutions, fifteen in number, as to the proper organiza- 
tion of the Federal Government. He stated, that as 
Virginia had taken the lead in calling the convention 
together, it was proper that her representatives in the 
convention should submit a plan of government for the 
United States as a substitute for the old articles of con- 
federation. These resolutions were taken up seriatim by 
the convention and discussed for months in committee of 
the whole. The plau submitted by Governor Pinckney 
was not alluded to in the debates. Finally the committee 
made a report to the convention. This report was again 
discussed in the convention, and at last referred, with 
the plan of Governor Pinckney to a committee, for the 
purpose of drafting a constitution. 

The committee they appointed reported a constitution 
for the United States. This proposed constitution was 
again discussed, clause by clause, and altered and 
amended in convention. If any one will compare the 
published plan of a constitution by Governor Pinckney 
with this report of the committee, he will see at once 
that, with some alterations, the one was copied from the 
other. It is certainly not likely that, after months of 
discussion, the committee should have adopted the plan 
of government submitted by Governor Pinckney, in his 
own language, with slight alterations. Mr. Madison 
says in the third volume of " the Madison Papers," that 
he took no copy of Charles Pinckney's plan of govern- 
ment at the time it was submitted to the convention, 
and that the plan now published in the debates was 
handed the Secretary of State, and first printed in 1819. 
"There is," says Mr. Madison, "in the paper a similarity 



452 CHARLES PINCKNEY, 

in some cases, and an identity in others, with details, 
expressions and definitions, the results of critical discus- 
sions and modifications in the convention that could not 
have been anticipated." " Again, in several instances 
where the paper corresponds with the constitution, it is 
at variance with the idea of Mr. Pinckney, as decidedly 
expressed in his propositions and in his arguments, the 
former in the journal of the convention, the latter in 
the reports of its debates." " In article 111 it is required 
that all money bills shall originate in the first branch of 
the Legislature, which he strenuously opposed on the 
8th of August, and again on the 11th of August." "In 
article 5, members of each House are made ineligible to 
as well as incapable of holding any office under the 
Union, a disqualification highly disapproved and opposed 
by Mr. Pinckney on the 14th of August." " A still 
more conclusive evidence of error in the paper is seen 
in article 111, which provides that the first branch of 
the Legislature shall be chosen by the people, whilst the 
author opposed that mode of choice a few days after his 
plan was submitted, and urged an election by the Legis- 
latures of the several States." 

It appears also that after the ratification of the con- 
stitution Charles Pinckney wrote Mr. Madison, on May 
28th, 1787, as follows: "Are you not, to use a full 
expression, abundantly convinced that the theoretical 
nonsense of an election of the members of Congress by 
the people in the first instance, is clearly and practically 
wrong — that it will, in the end, be the means of bringing 
our councils into contempt — and that the legislatures of 
the States are the only proper judges of who ought to 
be elected?" 

In the second volume of the Madison Papers, it will 
be seen at page 800 that Mr. Pinckney moved that the 
members of Congress should be elected by the State 
Legislature, and not by the people. Whilst his plan of 
a constitution provides that they shall be elected by the 
people. His plan was submitted on the 29th of May, 



CHARLES PINCKNEY. 453 

and his motion directly in teeth of it was made June 
6th. If any one will read the first report of the com- 
mittee of a constitution, he will see that Governor 
Pinckney's plan, as now published, was copied from it, 
with slight alterations. How this happened no one can 
now tell. Mr. Madison attempts to explain the matter 
by erasures and interlineations. 

When I first saw " the plan of a constitution," said 
to have been submitted by Charles Pinckney soon after 
the Federal convention met, its similarity to the Consti- 
tution of the United States was so striking, that I was 
induced to doubt its genuineness, without ever having 
heard it disputed. I had the same unbelief when I saw 
the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, as to the 
authenticity of that paper. 

Governor Charles Pinckney, though a very able 
man, did not take anything like the participation in the 
debates on the Federal constitution that Madison, 
Mason, Gerry, Wilson, Hamilton and many other 
members did. In looking over the" debates in the 
Federal convention a second time, very recently, I was 
struck with the wisdom and ability of George Mason of 
Virginia. He was the peer of any man in that con- 
vention for statesmanship and wisdom. In the Virginia 
convention called for considering the adoption of the 
Federal constitution, George Mason and Patrick Henry 
were its ablest opponents. Edmund Pandolph, who 
refused to sign the Federal constitution after it was 
agreed on by a majority of the Federal convention, 
advocated its adoption in the Virginia convention. 



ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 

No family in South Carolina has produced more 
distinguished public men than the Middletons. The 
Rutledges and Pinckueys have given the State greater 
men, but not so many of them. In the course of two 
hundred years, since the first settlement of South 
Carolina, there have been six generations of Middletons, 
all distinguished in political life. Edward Middleton, 
the founder of the family in America, came to South 
Carolina in 1680, and was a member of the Council 
under the Lords Proprietors, to whom the Province 
was granted by Charles II., king of Great Britain and 
Ireland. His son, Arthur Middleton, headed the 
Revolution of 1719, and transferred the government of 
the Province from the Lords Proprietors to the crown 
of England, and was afterwards appointed by the king 
Governor of the Province. He was elected President 
of the Convention which revolutionized the Province 
in 1719. His son, Henry Middleton, was President of 
the Continental Congress in 1775, and his son, Arthur 
Middleton, the subject of this sketch, was one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. Henry 
Middleton, the sou of Arthur, was Governor of South 
Carolina, a member of Congress, and Minister to Russia. 
His son, John Izard Middleton, was for many years a 
leading member of the Legislature of South Carolina 
and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Here 
are six generations of one family, lineal descendants of 
the original founder of the house in South Carolina, all 
highly distinguished for their talents, patriotism and 
public services. Besides these six lineal descendants, 
there were several other members of the Middleton 
family who were distinguished. Thomas Middleton, 
454 



ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 455 

the son of the first Arthur, distinguished himself as 
colonel of a regiment in the Cherokee war of 1761, 
John Izard Middleton, the son of the second Arthur, 
was distinguished in Paris for his taste in the fine arts 
and his love of poetry and music. He was also the 
author of a work on " The Cyclopean Walls," which 
showed his familiarity with classical literature and the 
details of art. Henry Middleton, the son of Governor 
Henry Middleton, Minister to Russia, was an accom- 
plished scholar and gentleman, and the author of various 
political essays and pamphlets, published both in Eng- 
land and in America. 

Arthur Middleton, the signer of the Declaration of 
Independence, was born in 1743, at " Middleton Place," 
the beautiful and magnificent country seat of the Mid- 
dletons, on Ashley River, near Charleston. This taste- 
ful, magnificent residence, so handsomely adorned and 
improved, continued standing for more than a hundred 
years, and was laid in ashes by the Goths and Vandals 
of the Federal army during our civil war. The destruc- 
tion of the works of art, genius, and literature is a 
disgrace to human nature, even in a civil war or revolu- 
tion. Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest of conquerors, 
would rob and plunder for the purpose of enriching and 
adorning his magnificent capital, but he never thought 
•of setting fire to the Vatican, or the private residences 
in his conquered empires. Self-interest prompts a bad 
man to steal, for he thereby enriches himself, but nothing 
but the blackest and most diabolical malignity can induce 
•one to destroy the beautiful works of art and genius. 

At the age of fifteen Arthur Middleton was sent to 
England to be educated, as was the universal habit of 
the wealthy planters of South Carolina before the Rev- 
olutionary war. He graduated at the University of 
Cambridge, and spent two years in travelling over 
Europe. On his return to Charleston he became an 
active, zealous, and prominent leader of the Revolution. 
He was a member of the Legislature, Provincial Con- 



456 ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 

gress, and the Committee of Safety. In the latter 
capacity he was of the greatest service. This committee 
was composed of the very best and most patriotic men 
in the country, but a portion of them were over-prudent 
and afraid to take any hazardous step. They required 
such men as Arthur Middleton, John Rutledge and 
William Henry Drayton and Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney to embolden their prudence and inspire them 
with daring deeds, such as the Revolution required to 
be successful. The truth, no doubt, is that a large por- 
tion of the people of South Carolina was at the begin- 
ning of the Revolution in favor of a reconciliation with 
the mother country. There was another portion of the 
people, as Botta says in his " History of the American 
Revolution/' in favor of Independence from the com- 
mencement of the controversy between the colonies and 
Great Britain. They were headed in South Carolina by 
such men as Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge, 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Willliam Henry Dray- 
ton, and Arthur Middleton. They looked far beyond 
the issues made by the Stamp Act and the duties on tea. 
They wished for the colonies to govern themselves, and 
revolted at the idea of having their Governors, Judges, 
and members of Council sent over from England to 
govern and administer the laws for them. They were 
ardent Republicans, and believed in the right and wis- 
dom of every people governing themselves. 

In 1776 Mr. Arthur Middleton was elected a mem- 
ber of the Continental Congress, and his father, Henry 
Middleton, a very old man, who had been President of 
this Congress, retired to private life. No one affixed 
his signature to the Declaration of Independence with 
more heart- felt satisfaction than Arthur Middleton. He 
and John Hancock, the President of Congress, became 
very intimate, and lodged together. They were both 
gentlemen of large fortunes and dispensed a most lib- 
eral hospitality, which made their house a place of 
resort for all the most ardent patriots of the Revolution. 



ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 457 

Whilst a member of Congress he took down in short- 
hand a great many of the important debates of that 
body. He himself was an active participator in those 
debates. His son, Governor Henry Middleton, told me 
that in looking over these debates in his father's hand- 
writing he was surprised to see a speech of Madison's 
advocating a treaty of peace with Great Britain, which 
would have left the Carolinas and Georgia British 
Provinces. When he was himself elected a member of 
Congress many years afterwards, he mentioned this 
speech to Mr. Madison who was then President of the 
United States. Mr. Madison admitted that he had made 
such a speech and attempted to justify it on the ground 
that those colonies were then conquered and under Brit- 
ish government, and the chance of ever reconquering 
them almost hopeless. A large portion of the people of 
Charleston had signed an address to Lord Cornwall is 
congratulating him on the conquest of the State. 

In 1778 Mr. Middleton declined the office of Gov- 
ernor of South Carolina, and entered warmly into the 
defence of Charleston. When the city surrendered, he 
was, like other prominent patriots parolled, and in vio- 
lation of his parol he was taken one night with thirty 
others, who had also been parolled, and sent to Florida. 
There he was confined in the castle of St. Augustine, 
and thence transferred to the Jersey prison ship. In 
the latter part of 1780 he was exchanged and resumed 
his seat in Congress. He continued a member of Con- 
gress till the close of the war, and was then elected a 
member of the State Senate. He died in 1787, in the 
forty-fourth year of his age and in the prime of his life 
and usefulness. He was not permitted to see the Fed- 
eral Government organized and witness the glorious 
results of his lone; and laborious efforts in the cause of 
his country. 

Mr. Arthur Middleton left two sons and two daugh- 
ters, three of whom I knew. His son, Governor Henry 
Middleton, a most interesting and courteous old gentle- 



458 ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 

man, was elected one of my colleagues from Greenville 
in the State Convention of 1831. He was a strong 
Union man, had just returned from Russia where he 
had spent fifteen years as Minister of the United States, 
and was spending his summer in Greenville, where he 
once resided before his mission to the Court of St. 
Petersburg. Tn my "Reminiscences of Public Men," 
I have mentioned Governor Middleton and sketched his 
character. One of Mr. Arthur Middleton's daughters 
married Major Rutledge of Tennessee, and the other 
my old friend, Judge Huger. His son, John Izard Mid- 
dleton, lived and died in Paris, where he married the 
daughter of a rich banker of Naples. I have already 
stated that he was a fine classical scholar, having gradu- 
ated at the English University of Cambridge, and that 
he was an author of some reputation in Europe. 

The family of the Middletons in England from 
which the American branch has descended, was an old 
aristocratic family and still exists as such in that 
Kingdom. 



PIERCE BUTLER. 

It is surprising how little known this distinguished 
statesman is to the present generation in South Carolina. 
No memoir or sketch of him has ever been written. 
His name is not mentioned ever in any encyclopedia or 
biographical dictionary, yet he was, in his day and time, 
an eminent statesman of Carolina, a prominent mem- 
ber of her Legislature, an active and conspicuous dele- 
gate in the Federal Convention which framed the Con- 
stitution of the United States, and three times elected a 
United States Senator. 

Pierce Butler was a sprig of nobility, an Irishman by 
birth, and a member of the noble house of the great 
Duke of Ormond who was educated by James the First 
of England, and who proved himself a loyal adherent 
to his son and grandson in all the civil strifes and wars 
of Great Britain. Pierce Butler was a colonel in the 
British army, and sold his commission for fifteen 
thousand pounds. He then emigrated to America and 
settled in South Carolina some years prior to our revo- 
lutionary war. He married a Miss Middleton, I think, 
the aunt of Governor Henry Middleton. He became a 
warm and active partisan in our revolutionary struggle, 
as all of his countrymen did, without a single exception 
known to the writer. The Irish were known then and 
now for their love of liberty and hatred of oppression. 
And yet, few people on earth have enjoyed less of the 
one, or felt more of the other, than the Irish nation. 

When Judge William Smith, of South Carolina, who 
had been a distinguished United States Senator for many 
years, became a candidate for the Legislature in York 
District, he was charged with great condescension and 
want of dignity by the Nullifiers, in his humble aspira- 
459 



460 PIERCE BUTLER. 

tion ; he replied that Pierce Butler, the heir of the great 
dukedom of Ormond, after having served in the United 
States Senate, threw aside his ducal robes and coronets 
and condescended to represent the little Parish of Prince 
William in the Legislature of South Carolina. The 
Judge regarded this illustrious example as a complete 
vindication of his own political course. I am not 
informed as to the particular services rendered by 
this illustrious Irishman in our revolutionary struggle, 
but there can be no doubt that he was a very active 
Whig, from the honors which were paid him by South 
Carolina. For some years he was a prominent member 
of the Legislature, then a member of the Continental 
Congress, and when the Federal Convention was called 
to frame the Constitution of the United States, Pierce 
Butler, with John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, and Charles Pinckney, was appointed to represent 
the State in that Convention. His course there and his 
speeches in that body show that he was a statesman of 
great ability, wisdom, and republican principles. 

When the convention assembled and adopted rules 
for their government, Pierce Butler made an additional 
rule to provide against the absence of members, and the 
licentious publication of their proceedings. He was 
opposed to the reduction of the powers of the State, 
and in favor of members of Congress being elected by 
the State Legislature. He favored two Houses of Con- 
gress. He opposed the election of President by Congress, 
and advocated the election by Electors appointed by the 
Legislature. He favored giving the President power to 
declare war. This was one of his kingly notions. He 
was opposed to the frequency of Presidential elections, 
and voted for seven years. He advocated strongly a 
single Executive, and showed the dangers of a plural 
Presidency. He opposed giving the President an abso- 
lute negative on the legislation of Congress. He said, 
in all countries the Executive power constantly increased, 
and a Catalineor a Cromwell might arise in this country 
as well as in others. 



PIERCE BUTLER. 461 

Mr. Butler proposed that the Senators should receive 
no compensation for their services. John Rutledge 
concurred with him, and South Carolina and Connec- 
ticut both voted for it. Mr. Madison thinks that their 
purpose was for the States to pay their Senators. 

There was great difficulty in the Convention as to the 
representation of the large States and small States in 
Congress. The latter were for an equal representation, 
which the former obstinately opposed. Mr. Butler pro- 
posed that the several States should be represented in the 
Senate in proportion to their wealth. Here his aristo- 
cratic education again showed itself. But there is wis- 
dom in having both numbers and property represented 
in all governments. The lower House should represent 
population and the upper House property. The one 
would be a check on the other and each protect itself. 

Mr. Madison moved in the Convention that two- 
thirds of the Senate should be allowed to make a treaty 
of peace without the concurrence of the President, and 
Mr. Butler seconded his motion. It was supposed that 
the President might acquire so much power and influence 
in war as to make him impede a treaty of peace. 

Mr. Butler again contended that the representation in 
the lower House should also be on the basis of wealth. 
He argued that property was the only just measure of 
representation. " This was the great object of govern- 
ment; the great cause of war, the great means of carry- 
ing it on." He seems to have forgotten that liberty was 
also the great object of government and the cause of war, 
and that soldiers were more important than money in 
carrying on war. 

Mr. Butler was in favor of excluding members of 
Congress from holding office during the term for which 
they were elected, and for one year afterwards. He 
said, "this precaution against intrigue was necessary and 
appealed to the example of Great Britain where men got 
into Parliament to obtain office for themselves or their 
<friends." He argued that representation should include 



462 PIERCE BUTLER. 

blacks as well as whites, and that " taxation and repre- 
sentation should go together." 

Mr. Butler opposed any abridgment of the right of 
suffrage, and said : " There is no right of which the 
people are more jealous than that of suffrage;" in this 
he showed his wisdom and republicanism. He contended 
that representatives in Congress should be elected for 
three years instead of two. He was decidedly opposed 
to the admission of foreigners into Congress without a 
long residence in the country. He said, " foreigners 
bring with them, not only attachments to other coun- 
tries, but ideas of government so distinct from ours, that 
in every point of view they are dangerous." He acknowl- 
edged that " if he himself had been called into public life 
within a short period after his coming to America, his 
foreign habits, opinions and attachments, would have 
rendered him an improper agent in public affairs." This 
was a very frank admission for an Irish sprig of nobility 
to make. 

Mr. Butler insisted in the Convention that members 
of Congress should be paid by the States in order to 
make them feel their dependence on the States. He 
opposed most strenuously the proposition of giving Con- 
gress the power to tax exports "as unjust and alarming 
to the staple States, and that he never would agree to 
such power being given Congress." On the clause to 
exclude the Senate from originating money bills, Mr. 
Butler said he saw no reason for such discrimination. 
" We were always following the British Constitution, 
when the reason of it did not apply. There was no 
analogy between the House of Lords and the Senate." 

In regard to giving Congress the power to "■ emit bills 
of credit," Mr. Butler remarked that " paper was a legal 
tender in no country in Europe. He was urgent for 
disarming the government of such a power." He thought 
that the regulation of the militia should be left to Con- 
gress entirely "as they had the care of the general 
defence. Mr. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, 



PIERCE BUTLER. 463 

proposed to give to Congress the power to negative all 
State laws. This was a most extraordinary proposition, 
and it was advocated by Mr. Madison, but Mr. Butler 
opposed it most vehemently and said it was " cutting off 
all hope of equal justice to the distant States." He 
might have added that it was the destruction of all State 
sovereignty and power. It is curious to see how crude 
the notions of some of our greatest statesmen were, and 
it is wonderful to think they at last agreed on such a 
wise Constitution. 

The Convention determined to have one Supreme 
Court, and then it was proposed to have inferior Federal 
Courts in each State. Mr. Butler thought the State 
courts might serve for inferior tribunals under the Fed- 
eral government. In regard to the ratification of the 
Federal Constitution, Mr. Butler proposed that when it 
was adopted by nine States it should go into operation. 
He had no idea that one or two small States should 
have the power of defeating the Constitution. His 
proposition was finally adopted. 

On the 16th day of January, 1788, the Legislature of 
South Carolina took into consideration the propriety of 
calling a convention for the purpose of ratifying the 
Federal Constitution, or rejecting it, as the convention 
might determine. Pierce Butler was elected a member 
of that Legislature, and he was active and efficient in 
urging on the Legislature the propriety of calling a 
convention. The Federal Constitution was thoroughly 
discussed by the members of the Legislature for several 
days on the call of a convention. Finally a vote was 
taken and it stood: ayes, 76 — nays, 75. So the con- 
vention was called by only a majority of one vote. 
Almost all the distinguished men of South Carolina 
were in this Legislature. 

The Convention convened on the 12th of May, and 
continued in session till the 23d of May. It seems that 
Pierce Butler was not in the Convention. His Parish, 
Prince William, was unanimous for the adoption of the 



464 PIERCE BUTLER. 

Constitution. He may have been elected and was unable 
to attend. Almost all the great men of South Carolina 
were returned to this Convention, and it is said, " the 
discussion was continued for eight days with great bril- 
liancy. Judge Burke, Mr. Bowman, Dr. Faysoux and 
others discussing the abuses and misconstructions of 
which the Constitution was susceptible; Judge Pendle- 
ton, General Pinckney, and Harvey Pringle, among many 
other distinguished members enforcing the expediency 
and necessity of its adoption." It is to be deeply 
regretted that we have no full report of this discussion. 
Governor Charles Pinckney's speech is almost the only 
one given in full. When the vote was taken on the 
adoption of the Constitution it stood: ayes, 149 — nays, 
73, and 14 absent. 

After the adoption of the Federal Constitution the 
Legislature of South Carolina assembled and elected 
Pierce Butler and Ralph Izard their first Senators to 
represent the State in the Senate of the United States. 
At the expiration of his Senatorial terminl793, he was re- 
elected to the United States Senate, and continued to serve 
till December 3d, 1796, when he resigned his seat in the 
Senate and John Hunter, of Laurens District, was elected 
to fill his vacancy. In November, 1802, Pierce Butler 
was again elected United States Senator in place of John 
Ewing Calhoun who had died. He continued in the 
Senate two years after his third election, when he again 
resigned his seat, and John Gaillard was elected to fill 
his vacancy. 

Whilst in the Senate of the United States, Mr. Butler 
was one of its ablest members ; but all the discussions in 
that body were with closed doors, and no reports of 
speeches made till the session of 1795. Then we find Mr. 
Butler making a speech on the address to the President. 
He had opposed the ratification of Jay 's Treaty and thought 
that the address reflected on the ministry. He "could 
not vote for it without involving himself in a palpable 
inconsistency." Jacob Read, his colleague in the Senate 



PIERCE BUTLER. 465 

from South Carolina, who had voted for the treaty, made 
a most happy and admirable reply to Mr. Butler. 

Again, on January 6th, 1796, we find Mr. Butler 
making a speech on the presentation of the French flag. 
It seems that he was more cordial towards the French 
Republic than a majority of the Senate. This was very 
natural for an Irishman. In October, 1803, Mr. Butler 
proposed as an amendment to the Constitution that no 
person should be eligible to the Presidency for more 
than four years in eight. In other words that the Presi- 
dent should not be re-eligible until after the expiration 
of four years. 

In consequence of the contest for the Presidency 
between Jefferson and Burr, Congress determined to 
alter the Constitution and require the Electors to vote 
separately for President and Vice-President. In 1803, 
Mr. Butler was chairman of the committee which made 
a report on this subject to the Senate of the United 
States. But after he had made his report in favor of 
the change, he became doubtful of the influence the 
change would have on the small States: He began to 
think it would give them less influence in the election 
than in the original plan. In his speech on the subject 
he referred to the republics of Greece and Home, and 
said : " Their history is that of all nations in similar 
circumstances, for man is man in every clime, and pas- 
sions mingle in all his actions." Senator Tracy, of 
Connecticut, repeated this expression and said " it should 
be written in letters of gold ! " 

Many years since I was in conversation with Mr. 
Henry Middleton, the son of Governor Middleton, about 
Pierce Butler. He spoke of him from tradition as " a 
blundering Irishman." If so, he was a very successful 
blunderer, for he blundered into one of the first and 
wealthiest families of South Carolina, and then into the 
United States Senate. In the latter part of his life he 
moved to Philadelphia, and died in 1822. He left a 
large estate and two or three daughters, but no sons. 



466 PIERCE BUTLER. 

This was a sad misfortune to a proud scion of the noble 
House of Orniond, who wished his family name and 
posterity to be perpetuated. One of his daughters mar- 
ried a gentleman in Philadelphia, and her children 
assumed the name of Butler, by direction of their grand- 
father's will. One of her sons married Fannie Kemble y 
the authoress and actress, who separated from him after 
having had two lovely daughters, on account of incom- 
patibility of temper and habits. This marriage and 
separation created a great stir in the aristocratic circles 
of Philadelphia. Mr. Butler was an accomplished gen- 
tleman of large fortune. He fell desperately in love 
with the beautiful, talented, fascinating actress, who 
belonged to a distinguished family in England, and 
whose reputation was pure and unsullied. But it seems 
they were not congenial spirits. In one of her letters to 
Mr. Butler she said, " I once loved you enough to give 
you my hand." But she did not say " my heart." 

Mr. Fisher, of Philadelphia, whose wife was a daughter 
of Governor Middleton, and a relation of Butler, seemed 
to think he was to blame for their separation. But 
there seldom occurs a separation between husband and 
wife when both were not to blame. Divorces were never 
allowed in South Carolina for two hundred years, and 
until the State was dishonored by a carpet-bag and scal- 
lawag and negro government. The religious and moral 
sentiment of public opinion now demands that this dis- 
graceful Act should be erased from our statutes. 



. JOHN MARSHALL. 

The prominence of Chief Justice Marshall, as a 
Judge, has overshadowed his eminence as a statesman. 
In thinking of him, and speaking of him, the American 
people regard him only as Chief Justice of the United 
States and the most illustrious of all our Judges. But 
he was also eminent as a statesman, and justly entitled 
to rank as such, with Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and 
their compeers. He was also a great diplomatist and 
gallant officer of the Revolutionary war. More than 
all this, he was a sterling patriot and a man of incor- 
ruptible honor, as bold and fearless in civil life as he 
had been in war. 

We are told in the lives of the Chief Justices of the 
United States that the grandfather of John Marshall 
was born in Wales, and that he emigrated to America 
in 1730, and settled in Westmoreland county, Virginia. 
There he married Elizabeth Mark ham, a native of 
England. His eldest son, Thomas, married Mary 
Keith, a connection of the Randolph family. They 
had fifteen children, and John Marshall, the Chief 
Justice, was the eldest of them. They moved from 
Westmoreland county to Fauquier county and settled 
at a place called Germantown, where John was born. 
Lord Fairfax was at that time the proprietor of this 
county, and he employed George Washington two or 
three years in surveying his vast domain, which included 
all the northern neck of Virginia as well as Fauquier 
county. Thomas Marshall and George Washington 
" had been near neighbors from birth, associates from 
boyhood, and were always friends," says Mr. Birney, in 
his eulogy on the Chief Justice. Washington employed 
him to assist in surveying Lord Fairfax's lands. He 
467 



468 JOHN MARSHALL. 

was a practical surveyor, a man of great energy of 
character and vigor of intellect. Although he was 
without the advantages of early education, like his 
friend Washington, yet he was a man of great natural 
ability and obtained very considerable mental culture. 
He was well read in history, poetry and general litera- 
ture. He was a good mathematician, and had some 
knowledge of astronomy. It is said, too, he possessed 
all the standard works of English literature. He was a 
Colonel in the Continental army, and served all the 
war under the immediate command of General Wash- 
ington. In the battles of Brandywine and Monmouth 
he was distinguished for his bravery and gallantry. 
" My father," said the Chief Justice in after life, " was 
a far abler man than any of his sons." 

John Marshall was born the 24th of September, 
1755, and soon after his birth, his father moved east 
of the mountains, where his son grew up to manhood in 
a wild country, very thinly settled. He received no edu- 
cation till he was fourteen years old, except what he 
obtained at home under the instruction of his father. 
He was studious and read with great avidity Shake- 
speare, Milton, Dry den and Pope. At the age of twelve, 
he transcribed the whole of Pope's Essay on Man, and 
had memorised portions of his Moral Essay. He 
manifested a poetical turn of mind and indulged in the 
cultivation of the muses. Throughout life, it is said, he 
had a fondness for poetry, which no one would have 
supposed from his dry logical mind. 

At the age of fourteen he was sent to school for the 
first time. There was no school in the wilderness of 
mountains where his father had settled. He went to an 
academy in Westmoreland county and there stayed one 
year. James Monroe, President of the United States, 
was his fellow-student. Little did these raw country 
lads then suppose that they were to fill two of the 
highest offices in America. Lord Mansfield says that 
when he started from Edinburgh for London on a 



JOHN MAKSHALL. 469 

little pony, he never dreamed of being Chief Justice of 
Great Britain. Marshall returned home and studied 
the classic one year longer at his father's house under 
the direction of a Scotchman. But in truth, it may be 
said, with a dictionary and grammar he educated 
himself. 

He was nineteen years old when the battle of Lexing- 
ton was fought. He was appointed Lieutenant of a 
militia company and walked ten miles with his gun on 
his shoulder to the muster ground. The Captain was 
absent and he drilled the company, told them that there 
had been fighting in the North and he expected to 
voluntetr his services and hoped that they would do the 
same. He was dressed in a blue hunting shirt, fringed 
with pantaloons of the same cloth. He wore a round 
hat with a deer's tail in it for a cockade. After the 
muster was over he indulged in pitching quoits and 
running foot races. Such was the great Chief Justice 
of the United States at nineteen. He marched with 
his company to the seaboard of Virginia, and there 
participated in the first battle of the Old Dominion for 
liberty and independence. He afterwards received the 
appointment of Captain in the Continental Army, and 
served under Washington till 1780. He was in the 
battles of Brandywiue, Monmouth, Paulus Hook and 
others. He was in the army at Valley Forge during 
that terrible winter, when the soldiers were tracked in 
the snow by the blood on their feet. 

In 1780 he was sent home to recruit men for filling 
up the ranks of his company. During this time he 
read law and attended the lectures of Chancellor 
Wythe and Bishop Madison in William and Mary's 
College. When Virginia was invaded by Arnold, he 
joined the army again under the command of Baron 
Steuben, and remained there till the termination of the 
invasion. He obtained a license to practice law, and 
soon rose to distinction at the Bar. In after life he 
modestly attributed his early success in his profession to 



470 JOHN MARSHALL. 

the influence and patronage of the officers of the army 
with whom he had become acquainted during the 
Revolutionary war. He had acted as Judge -Advocate 
of the Brigade in which he served, and this introduced 
him, and made him acquainted with all the officers of 
the army. No doubt the talents and ability he 
displayed as Judge Advocate satisfied the officers that 
they could not, when peace returned, entrust their 
business to an abler lawyer. 

Mr. Marshall was elected a member of the Virginia 
Legislature in 1782, being then twenty-seven years old, 
and in 1874 was appointed a member of the Executive 
Council. He was again elected to the Legislature and 
continued a member of that body for a number of 
years. In 1783 he was married to Miss Mary Willie 
Ambler, the daughter of the State Treasurer, for whom 
he formed an attachment whilst in the army. They 
lived together in married life almost fifty years, with 
uninterrupted happiness. When Mrs. Marshall died, 
her loss cast a gloom over the thoughts of the Chief 
Justice, from which he never recovered, says Judge 
Story, his intimate friend and associate in the Supreme 
Court of the United States. 

Soon after his marriage Mr. Marshall moved to 
Richmond, and devoted himself to his profession. But 
the people forced him to continue in the Legislature, 
where he was associated with Patrick Henry, Richard 
Henry Lee, Tyler, Tazewell, and President Madison. 
At that time he and Madison labored together in all 
their political views; but differed widely in after life. 
This difference, however, never produced any alienation 
of mutual respect and friendship. Judge Story says 
"Nothing could be more touching to an inquiring mind 
than to hear from their own lips, in their latter years, 
expressions of mutual respect and confidence; or to 
witness their earnest testimony to the talents, virtue, 
and services of each other." This was not the case, 
however, with Jefferson and Marshall. In his old age 



JOHN MARSHALL. 471 

Jefferson accused Marshall of falsifying history, and 
soiling his gown by his commentaries on the letter writ- 
ten by Jefferson to Mazzie. And Marshall said of 
Jefferson, that "the morals of the author of. the letter to 
Mazzie cannot be pure." After the trial of Aaron Burr 
for high treason, Marshall and Jefferson never spoke to 
each other. The greatest and best of men will sometimes 
misunderstand each other, suspect each other's actions, 
expressions and motives, and fall out. 

Marshall was the earnest, fearless advocate of a better 
and stronger Union than we had under the old articles 
of confederation, and when the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution was submitted to the Virginia Convention 
he was a candidate for a seat in that convention. A 
majority of his constituents were opposed to the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, and they informed Marshall 
that there would be no opposition to him if he would 
pledge him to vote against the adoption. This Marshall 
positively refused to do, and the election was warmly 
discussed. His personal popularity secured his election. 
The ablest and most distinguished men of Virginia 
were members of that convention. Patrick Henry, 
George Mason, Bland, Grayson, Tyler and President 
Monroe were opposed to the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution. On the other hand, Madison, Marshall, 
Randolph, Nicholas, Pendleton, Wythe and Bushrod 
Washington were the advocates of its adoption. These 
debates comprise the entire third volume of "Elliot's 
Debates," and although imperfectly reported, show the 
great talents and ability of the convention. It will 
be seen by reference to this work, that the speeches of 
Marshall and Madison surpass all others that were 
made, Patrick Henry's and George Mason's not excepted. 
John Marshall, at that time, was only thirty-three years 
old. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 89 to 
79. But for the unsurpassed ability of Marshall and 
Madison it would unquestionably have been rejected. 

Mr. Marshall continued a member of the Virginia 



472 JOHN MAESHALL. 

Legislature till 1794. He was ten years one of the 
most prominent and active members of that body, 
and during that time the most important questions 
affecting the State and the national government were 
discussed and settled. The practice of Mr. Marshall 
at the Bar in 1792 rendered it impossible for him to 
continue in the Legislature. He was engaged on all 
the leading cases in the State and national tribunals. 
These cases fill in a great measure the two volumes of 
Washington's Reports, and are "proud monuments of 
the professional fame of the future Chief Justice." 

Jay's treaty excited the whole nation in 1796, and 
party divisions ran higher than they ever did before. 
The Federalists, with Washington at their head, 
approved of the treaty, and the Republicans denounced 
it in most unmeasured terms. Marshall addressed a 
public meeting in Richmond approving the treaty. 
The election for a member of the Legislature came on 
immediately afterwards. There were two opposing 
candidates, and Marshall went to the polls and voted 
for the one who was his personal and political friend. 
Some one demanded that a poll be opened for John 
Marshall. This Mr. Marshall positively refused and 
went off. No sooner had he gone than a poll was 
opened for him, and he was elected by a large majority 
of the voters. When the Legislature met, Jay's treaty 
came up for discussion, and Marshall made the greatest 
effort of his genius, which at once gave him a national 
reputation, and placed him amongst the eminent states- 
men of the Republic. He was re-elected the next year 
a member of the Legislature, without opposition. He 
went to Philadelphia to argue in the Supreme Court of 
the United States the great case involving the pay- 
ment of English debts which had been confiscated by 
the State of Virginia. His argument in this case was 
one of great ability and learning. "He was followed 
by crowds," says Wirt, " looked upon and courted with 
every evidence of admiration and respect for the great 



JOHN MARSHALL. 473 

powers of his mind." He was on the side of the 
debtor and gained the case in the Circuit Court of the 
United States, but lost it in the Supreme Court. 

The office of Attorney-General of the United States 
was now tendered him by President Washington, which 
he declined. Washington then appointed him Minister 
to France. This high position he likewise declined, and 
General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was appointed in 
his place. General Pinckney was not received by the 
French Directory. Mr. Adams, who was now Presi- 
dent of the United States, made an effort to prevent a 
war between the United States and the French Republic 
by appointing Marshall, Pinckney and Gerry Ministers 
Extraordinary to the French Government. Mr. Mar- 
shall felt it his duty to accept this appointment, and he 
made an address to the French Minister for Foreign 
Affairs, which, his biographer says, " will compare 
favorably with the ablest diplomatic correspondence in 
the American Archives." It was a voluminous and 
most elaborate defence of the American policy with 
regard to France. Although the mission was unsuc- 
cessful, Marshall acquired great popularity for his efforts 
to adjust the difficulties between the two countries, and 
on his return he received everywhere the highest honors 
for his services in the cause of his Government. 

In 1798 the mind of Washington was filled with the 
most gloomy forebodings of the Republic, and he took 
a deep interest in forcing into public service the ablest 
and best men of the country. Marshall was invited to 
Mount Vernon, and Washington prevailed on him to 
become a candidate for Congress. " After a sharp con- 
test he was elected, and took his seat in that body in 
December, 1799." President Adams had tendered him 
a seat on the Circuit bench of the United States, which 
he promptly declined. He entered Congress determined 
to do his duty, and was above all partisan feelings. He 
voted for the repeal of the " Sedition Law," which had 
been passed at the preceding session. He made a speech 



474 JOHN MARSHALL. 

in defence of the President for his conduct relative to 
the extradition of Jonathan Robins, which, Judge Story- 
says, " was one of the most consummate judicial argu- 
ments that was ever pronounced in the halls of legisla- 
tion." " Like Lord Mansfield's answer to the Prussian 
Memorial, it was reponse sans replique — an answer so 
irresistible that it admitted of no reply." 

Immediately after the adjournment of Congress in 
May, 1799, Marshall was appointed Secretary of War. 
He wrote to President Adams to withdraw the appoint- 
ment, and before he received an answer he found him- 
self appointed Secretary of State. This position he 
accepted, and a more judicious appointment could not 
have been made. He was well acquainted with all our 
foreign affairs, and conducted them with distinguished 
ability and wisdom. Mr. Adams had had great diffi- 
culty with his disjointed cabinet, as it was termed ; but 
after Mr. Marshall came into it all was pleasant and 
agreeable. 

In February, 1801, whilst Secretary of State, Mr. 
Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United 
States, in the place of Ellsworth, who had resigned ; 
but he continued to discharge the duties of Secretary of 
State till the termination of Mr. Adams's administration 
on the 4th of March ensuing. In writing to Judge 
Story, John Quincy Adams said that his father's ap- 
pointment of Marshall Chief Justice of the United 
States, and his declining the appointment of Associate 
Judge in favor of Story, were enough to make the 
country grateful to them, if they had done nothing else 
during the terms of their administration. 

Chief Justice Marshall presided in the Supreme Court 
of the United States thirty-five years, and his able and 
learned decisions in that court are a monument of his 
fame and wisdom. I shall not pretend in a sketch of 
this kind to review his judicial character. I speak of 
him as an eminent American statesman, and I hope that 
I have shown that he was entitled to rank as such in the 



JOHN MARSHALL. 475 

estimation of his country. All the great constitutional 
questions which have risen under our complex form of 
government were decided by him. He first decided the 
power of the Federal Courts to declare an act of Con- 
gress unconstitutional, and that any legislation of a 
State in conflict with the Constitution of the United 
States was null and void. 

The family of Chief Justice Marshall were all 
remarkable for their talents — brothers and sisters, 
fifteen in all. They are scattered over Kentucky and 
Virginia, and many of them have risen to eminence. 
The appearance of the Chief Justice was not remarkable 
or striking. He was tall and slender— over six feet; 
not graceful, and not having the appearance of strength. 
He was plain and affable in his manners and negligent 
of his dress; indeed, he looked like a plain, awkward 
countryman. It is said in his biography that he always 
went to market himself; and on one occasion a fashion- 
able young gentleman asked him to carry home for him 
a turkey, which he did. The young gentleman then 
offered him a shilling for his services, which he modestly 
declined. The young gentleman enquired of some one 
who this obliging countryman was, and was told he was 
Judge Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States ! 

The following description of him is by William Wirt, 
then Attorney General of the United States : " He was 
tall, meagre, emaciated ; his muscles relaxed and his 
joints so loosely connected as not only to disqualify him 
apparently for any vigorous exertion of body, but to 
destroy everything like harmony in his air or move- 
ments. Indeed, in his whole appearance and demeanor 
— dress, attitude, gesture, sitting, standing or walking 
— he is as far removed from the idealised graces of Lord 
Chesterfield as any other gentleman on earth." John 
Randolph, the most fastidious and aristocratic of men, 
said that " the Chief Justice's manner was perfect good 
breeding." Natural simplicity, without any pretention 
or assumption, is the characteristic of the highest aristo- 
cracy of England. 






476 JOHN MARSHALL. 

In 1808 Mr. Justice Story visited Washington for 
the first time, then a young lawyer, and gave the fol- 
lowing description of Chief Justice Marshall in a letter 
to a friend in Boston : " He is of a tall, slender figure, 
not graceful or imposing, but erect and steady. His 
hair is black, his eyes small and twinkling, his forehead 
rather low, but his features are, in general, harmonious. 
His manners are plain yet dignified ; and an unaffected 
modesty diffuses itself through all his actions. His 
dress is very simple, yet neat, his language chaste, but 
hardly elegant ; it does not flow rapidly, but it seldom 
wants precision. I love his laugh." 

A venerable kinsman of the Chief Justice pays the 
following tribute to his domestic virtues : — " He had 
no frays in boyhood. He had no quarrels or outbreak- 
ings in manhood. He was the composer of strife. He 
spoke ill of no man. He meddled not with their 
affairs. He viewed their worst deeds through the 
medium of charity. He had eight sisters and six 
brothers, with all of whom, from youth to age, his inter- 
course was marked by the utmost kindness and 
affection." 

After the death of Mrs. Marshall, Judge Story wrote 
his wife, after visiting the Chief Justice: "I saw 
at once he had been shedding tears over the memory of 
his own wife ; and he said to me he rarely goes through 
a night without weeping over her departure." " She 
must have been a very extraordinary woman so to have 
attached him, and I think he is the most extraordinary 
man I ever saw for the depth and tenderness of his 
feelings." 

Chief Justice Marshall, with President Madison and 
President Monroe, was a member of the Virginia Con- 
vention in 1829 for the purpose of adopting a new Con- 
stitution. In a speech which he made in that Conven- 
tion he uttered the following memorable words : " I have 
always thought, from my earliest youth till now, that 
the greatest scourge an angry Heaven ever inflicted upon 



JOHN MARSHALL. 477 

an ungrateful and sinning people was an ignorant, a 
corrupt, or a dependent judiciary ." 

It was the fashion in times past to compare Marshall 
with Mansfield as a judge. But his biographer says: 
" The American Chief Justice is something more than 
a Mansfield. Equally endowed with every moral as 
well as intellectual attribute which can adorn the high- 
est judicial character, but with a firmer temper and 
a loftier courage, a more solid and compact intellect, a 
more robust and rugged manhood, he stands before us, 
if not superior as a judge, yet greater as a man." Wil- 
liam Pinkney, the most accomplished lawyer the 
American Bar ever produced, said that " Marshall was 
born to be the Chief Justice of any country into which 
Providence should have cast him." He was a member 
of the Episcopal Church, and died in Philadelphia July 
6th, 1835, in his eightieth year, in full possession of 
his mental faculties. 

" The great, the good, the wise, 
Born for all ages, honored in all skies." 






THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 

This intellectual colossus of the Old Bay State was 
more eminent as a lawyer than as a statesman. His 
soubriquet was " the giant of the Law." Mr. Justice 
Story of the Supreme Court of the United States pro- 
nounced him " the greatest living lawyer, and head and 
shoulders taller than any of his cotemporaries." These 
coternporaries, too, were such lawyers as Fisher, Ames, 
Dexter, Cabot, Strong, Alexander Hamilton and 
Governor Sullivan. But he was also a profound states- 
man, classical scholar, mathematician and learned man. 
His memory was as great as his other intellectual 
endowments, and he never forgot anything that he read. 
Had he devoted his wonderful abilities to politics as he 
did to law he would have been among the most eminent 
of American statesmen. 

Theophilus Parsons was the son of a poor clergyman 
of Byefield, Massachusetts, who managed to support 
himself, his wife and five children, on a salary of two 
hundred and eighty dollars per annum. What would 
our clergy of the present day say to a stipend like this? 
What would Parson Beecher, a New England man, 
with an annual salary of twenty thousand dollars think 
of this devout and pious clergyman's compensation? On 
his mother's side, who was a most remarkable talented 
and learned woman, he was the lineal descendant of 
John Robinson of Leyden, who projected the expedition 
of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock, 
and died before he could follow them. Theophilus used 
to boast of this descent, though he was not vain and 
cared nothing for distinction. It is said he scorned 
applause and popularity, and had no ambition for hon- 
ors or office. He was born in Byefield, Massachusetts,. 
478 



\ 



THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 479 

on the 24th of February, 1750, and educated in the 
academy at that place till he was fifteen years old. The 
parson owned a little farm, and no doubt Theophilus, 
like most New England boys of that day, worked on it 
in the summer and went to school in the winter. His 
extraordinary capacity for learning and his studious 
habits induced his father to think of sending him to 
college. The parishioners contributed some of the pro- 
ducts of their farms for this purpose, and he entered 
Harvard College in 1765, and graduated in 1769. 
Judge Tudor, who was his classmate and chum and 
friend for a half century, says : " He was an insatiable 
student, and after learning his lesson would turn for his 
amusement to a mathematical problem or a novel with 
equal relish." 

In a playful description of his chum, as " Chrysander," 
the Judge wrote as follows whilst they were in college : 
" Nature, when she made Chrysander, was unkind in 
point of externals. But though she left him defective 
in the trappings of person, that deficiency was amply 
compensated by the bestowment of ten thousand ami- 
able and valuable qualities. To a vivacity of fancy and 
promptitude of invention she joined a penetrating genius 
and a spirit of investigation that pervaded her deepest 
recesses. With an industry that difficulties invigorated, 
and a sagacity that nothing could elude, it is not to be 
thought strange that he soon became familiar with the 
whole circle of the sciences." The likeness of Chief 
Justice Parsons, in the frontispiece of his life, by his son, 
would indicate that he was left very " defective in the 
trappings of person." His head and face are large and 
rather ruffian looking ! 

Daniel Webster, whilst a law student, describes Chief 
Justice Parsons in his journal, as follows : " Theophi- 
lus Parsons is now about fifty-five years old, of rather 
large stature, and inclining a little to corpulency. His 
hair is brown, and his complexion not light. His face 
is not marked by any striking feature, if we except his 



480 THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 

eyes. His forehead is low and his eyebrows prominent. 
He wears a blue coat and breeches, worsted hose, a 
brown whig with a cocked hat. He has a penetrating eye 
of an indescribable color. A great scholar in everything 
in his profession, he is peculiarly great. * * * * 
He has no fondness for public life, and is satisfied with 
standing where he is — at the head of his profession." 

His son says : Mr. Webster is mistaken in the color 
of his hair, which was black, and in saying he had a low 
forehead. He wore a wig at that time which was 
brown, and concealed the height of his forehead. No 
doubt his forehead was high, for no great man ever yet 
had a low forehead. Brains make greatness, and there 
must be a capacious forehead to hold them. Mr. Web- 
ster says he is a wit, but his son says what he remem- 
bers of his father, is not wit, but fun. " If ever a man 
loved fun and frolic, he did. He laughed easily and 
heartily, although often with his mouth shut, and 
silently, he loved to laugh and make others laugh, and 
he knew how to do it." 

His son says he could turn into a laugh what might 
have become a quarrel. He and Governor Sullivan 
had some little war of words in court, in which Parsons 
got the better of him. Sullivan took the broad-brimmed 
hat of Parsons whilst he was addressing the jury, 
and wrote on it with a piece of chalk, " This is the hat 
of a darned rascal." The bar saw it, and laughed. 
Parsons turning round picked up the hat and said, 
" May it please your Honor, I crave the protection of 
the court. Brother Sullivan has been stealing my hat 
and writing his own name in it." In Connecticut no man 
was allowed to travel on Sunday, and Parsons, who had 
been attending court at Hartford, started home Sunday 
morning. He was stopped by a constable, and he 
demanded his authority, which was produced, and 
authorized the officer to stop him. Parsons told his 
driver to get in the carriage, and they would stop in 
obedience to law. The constable told him he must go 



THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 481 

back with him. " No," said Parsons, "you are author- 
ized to stop me and nothing more." After waiting some 
time the constable left him and he proceeded on his 
journey. 

Like a great many other great men, Parsons taught 
school three years after graduating. In the meantime 
he was reading law, and admitted to the Bar. He 
established himself at Suffolk, now Portsmouth, which 
town was immediately afterwards burned by the British 
army, and he returned to his father's. Fortunately for 
him, Judge Trowbridge had taken refuge at Byefield, 
with the best law library in America. For three years 
Parsons read the Judge's books, day and night, and his 
memory was such that he never forgot what he had read. 
This was during the revolutionary war. He established 
himself after the war ceased in Massachusetts, at New- 
berryport, and commenced again to practice law. His 
learning and ability soon placed him at the head of his 
profession, and his greatness was the talk of the town. 
One day, says his son and biographer, Judge Greenleaf 
told his daughter, Betsey, who was keeping house for him, 
that he would have some company the next day to dine 
with them, and amongst others Mr. Parsons. " What," 
said Miss Betsey, " that great lawyer about whom every- 
body is talking ? I shall not be able to say a word to 
him ! " " Never mind," replied her father, "he can talk 
enough for both of you." Within twelve months from 
that time he and Miss Betsey were married, and she had 
the great lawyer to talk to all her life ! They had twelve 
children, seven of whom grew up to an adult age. 
His profession proved as fruitful as his wife, and he 
made a fortune, lived sumptuously, entertained a great 
deal of company and was happy. No doubt Miss Bet- 
sey often looked back to that terrible dinner with a great 
deal of pleasure. It gave her a great, good and loving 
husband, which all young ladies would be glad to have, 
although some of them may be too modest to acknowl- 
edge it. 



482 THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 

In 1800 Parsons moved to Boston. He was then 
fifty years old, with an overshadowing reputation as a 
lawyer. He was sent for all over New England and 
New York to argue great cases in the State Courts and 
the United States Court. He frequently met Alex- 
ander Hamilton and Aaron Burr on opposite sides to 
him, and he showed himself as a lawyer greatly superior 
to either of them. Whilst he resided in Essex county 
he took an active part in defeating the new Constitution 
which had been framed for the State of Massachusetts, 
and wrote the famous " Essex Result," which showed 
him to be a profound statesman. A convention was then 
called to form another constitution and he was elected a 
member of that convention. The State Constitution 
adopted was very much the work of his great mind. 
When the Federal Constitution was submitted to the 
people of Massachusetts for their ratification, Parsons 
was elected a member of the convention before whom 
the Constitution was laid for their adoption. A majority 
of the members were opposed to the Constitution, and 
but for the management and ability of Parsons it would 
have been rejected. Samuel Adams and Governor Han- 
cock were both opposed to the Constitution. They were 
States' Rights men, and the most popular men in Massa- 
chusetts. They thought the Federal Constitution yielded 
too much authority to the general government, and 
would result in arbitrary power and destruction of 
the State government. The fate of the Federal Con- 
stitution depended on its adoption by Massachusetts. 
This was the opinion of Washington, Madison and 
other eminent statesmen. If rejected by Massachusetts, 
Virginia and New York would certainly do the same 
thing. All eyes were therefore turned to the Massa- 
chusetts Convention, and the friends of the Constitution 
waited with trembling anxiety the result. 

After a discussion of every article and section of the 
Constitution, and when the vote was about to be taken, 
Parsons drew up several amendments, and placed them 



THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 483 

in the hands of Governor Hancock to submit to the 
convention. This gratified the vanity of the Governor 
and gave him an opportunity of playing mediator 
between the Federalists and anti-Federalists or Repub- 
licans as they were afterwards called. These amend- 
ments were most formally submitted by Hancock, 
and Samuel Adams agreed to them. If they had 
been offered by Parsons, a strong Federalist, they would 
not have been considered satisfactory to the anti-Federal 
party. This drafting the amendments by Parsons was 
kept a profound secret. Hancock was applauded by 
both parties, and became the popular idol of Massachu- 
setts. Most of these amendments were ratified by the 
States, and became a part of the Federal Constitution. 
It may then with truth be said that this great lawyer, 
Parsons, had the Federal Constitution ratified, and but 
for his ability and management it would not have been 
adopted by nine States. 

Parsons cared nothing more for popularity than he 
did for the whistling of the wind. He had no ambition 
and despised applause and flattery. President Adams 
tendered him the Attorney-Generalship of the United 
States, which he declined to accept. His acceptance 
would have required him to live in Washington. In 
1806, Chief Justice Dana resigned his office and imme- 
diately Judge Parker and Judge Sewell went to Gover- 
nor Strong and urged him to appoint Mr. Parsons Chief 
Justice, without consulting him, and they thought if he 
would do so, they could prevail on Parsons to accept the 
office. At that time Parsons's practice was worth ten 
thousand dollars in cash, and it was known that he had 
an aversion to holding any office. But his friends made 
him think that a sense of public duty required him to 
accept the Chief Justiceship. It would occupy too much 
space to give their reasons. Parsons, too, was getting 
old, and had thought of retiring from the Bar, and giv- 
ing advice at Chambers. He was finally prevailed on 
to accept the appointment, and he continued to discharge 



484 THEOPHILUS PAESONS. 

the duties of this high office till his death in 1813, with 
great honor to himself and State. It is said his appoint- 
ment gave the highest satisfaction to the people, 
to the Bar and the Judges, except Judge Sedge- 
wick, who thought he was entitled to the appointment 
himself. Judge Sedgewick had been a long time on the 
bench, and had once been Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives of the United States. 

His biographer says Parsons "was not eloquent, and 
could not be, although he was exceedingly fluent, and 
had much power of rich and varied expression." Why 
then was he not eloquent when occasion called for elo- 
quence? He entertained the opinion that eloquence was 
a great hindrance to a lawyer, and of no great value 
anywhere. " One reason for this opinion," says his 
biographer, " was probably his want of that love of 
admiration and applause which those who philosophize 
about these things consider a principal source and stim- 
ulus of eloquence. These were never desired by him, 
and indeed he sometimes avoided them, and manifested 
his disgust for them in a rude and peremptory way." 
It is said he never delivered an oration or an address, 
or made a speech in his life, excepting in court, or in a 
legislative assembly. He was purely intellectual and 
without ambition. A rare man in this American 
Republic ! 

Chief Justice Parsons, with all his amiability of dis- 
position, was sometimes very rude to the members of 
the Bar, but he always passed it off pleasantly. Amongst 
many instances given in his life, I will mention one: 
Tristam Burgess was a gentleman of the old school, and 
made his appearance in court in silk stockings, lace 
ruffles and powdered hair. He was an old personal 
friend of the Chief Justice, and rose to argue his case to 
the jury. The points of the case were called for by the 
Court. In reply, Burgess stated the first. The Chief 
Justice said : " That is no point at all, Brother Burgess. 
Have you another ?" " Yes, your Honor," and he 



THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 485 

stated it. "You have not a particle of evidence for 
that point, as you very well know, Brother Burgess. 
What other ?" The same remark was made to all the 
points. Mr. Burgess said : " May it please your 
Honor, I think I have a very good case, and believe I 
can satisfy the jury of it." His Honor replied : " A 
very good case you may have, but unfortunately there 
is no evidence offered to support before the jury." Mr. 
Burgess gathered up his papers most indignantly and 
walked out of court whilst the Judge was charging the 
jury. He commenced haranguing the crowd in the 
court-yard about the tyranny of the Chief Justice, and 
called on them to rise up and stop the court, or their 
liberties were lost. Just at this point the Chief Justice 
passed out of Court and stopped to listen to Mr. Bur- 
gess. The crowd were amused and commenced laugh- 
ing. The Chief Justice stepped up to him and said : 
"Brother Burgess, if you get through in time I wish 
you to come and dine with me !" Burgess paused and 
said : " I give it up, I give it all up," and took 
the Judge's arm. They had a very pleasant dinner. 

The memory of Chief Justice Parsons was most ex- 
traordinary, except in recalling names. He could re- 
member the principle decided in a case, and repeat it, 
but he could not tell the name of the case. He remem- 
bered everything about it but the names of the parties. 
Very often he would miscall the names of his guests at 
his table. On one occasion a dignified old lady, who 
prided herself on her family and was dressed in the 
height of fashion, and whose name was " Mrs. Sevon," 
the Chief Justice addressed her as " Mrs. Schooner." 
This mortified Mrs. Parsons very much, and she 
exclaimed : " Good heavens, Mr. Parsons, what are you 
thinking!" 

His son says the Chief Justice " was inattentive to 
his dress to the last degree, and scarcely seemed 
to know what he had on or how it was put on, and was 
as much under the constant supervision of my mother 



486 THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 

as one of her younger children. She often went with 
him on the circuit, and said if she did not go with hini 
he would not be dressed fit to be seen." On one occa- 
sion he took the circuit without his wife, and was to be 
gone seven days. She packed his trunk for him 
and put in it seven clean shirts, and requested him not 
to forget to put one on every day. He returned, and 
on looking into his trunk she found no shirts, and said 
to him, " What has become of them ?" He replied : 
" You told me to be sure and put one on every morn- 
ing, and I suppose they are on my back. I obeyed 
your instructions." This gave rise to the story that he 
had actually come home with seven shirts on his back, 
and the story was told and believed all over New Eng- 
land; but, in fact, the shirts had been stowed away 
somewhere else. 

Chief Justice Parsons was a religious man all his life, 
but he never joined any church till towards the close of 
his earthly career. He then became a communicant of 
the Unitarian Church. He was utterly opposed to the 
Calvinistic doctrine, vicarious punishment and salvation 
by faith alone. He was a strict observer of the Sab- 
bath, although he seldom went to church till he became 
a member. He was hypochondriacal in his old age, and 
imagined himself troubled with a great many ailments. 
His use of tobacco was excessive; he smoked, snuffed 
and chewed, either one or the other, all the time, except 
when in court. But in his old age he quit the use of 
tobacco altogether. When he did so, he carried around 
the circuit with him a box of fine cigars to prove that it 
was not necessity or the want of cigars which prevented 
his smoking. 

Personally he had no enemies, but politically many 
bitter ones. He was a strong Federalist, or conserva- 
tive, as he called himself, and hated Radicalism. His 
celebrated essay, called the " Essex Result," is a pro- 
found philosophical disquisition on government, and 
shows him to be as true a Republican and friend of 
constitutional liberty as ever breathed. 



THEOPHILUS PARSONS. 487 

The Massachusetts reports are his best monument as 
a lawyer and judge. His decisions whilst Chief Justice 
will compare with those of the most eminent judges of 
England or any other nation. He was the great oracle 
•of the common law — had thoroughly studied it and 
mastered it. He was all his life as hard a student as 
any one could be. He took no exercise and was a very 
hearty eater, which brought on indigestion and hypo- 
chondria. All great men, as well as all other men, have 
their faults and lack of prudence in some things. He 
was learned in all the languages, in all literature and in 
every science. He was a prodigy in wisdom, learning 
and purity, and yet his wife had to take care of him as 
she did one of her younger children. 

In his person he was tall and slender in early life, 
but afterwards became stout and rather corpulent. His 
-eyes were a striking feature in his face, and never 
winked whilst looking at you. Chief Justice Marshall 
had the same kind of eyes, and it is said his steady gaze 
at a prosy lawyer, without winking, frequently silenced 
him ! This was said by the great William Lowndes to 
the son and biographer of Chief Justice Parsons. 

The son's life of his father is an extremely interesting 
book. The author has inherited a good deal of his 
father's talents, and has distinguished himself as a 
writer. He was in 1859 Professor of Law in Harvard 
University. His mother, " Miss Betsey Greenleaf," 
who " could not say a word to the great lawyer about 
whom everybody was talking," was a charming and 
talented lady, and made " the great intellectual col- 
ossus" a loving and model wife, "taking care of him as 
she did of her younger children," and riding the circuit 
with him to see that he was always genteelly dressed! 
Next to dressing herself nicely and with taste, a wife 
likes to see her husband well dressed. Jefferson said 
that as persons grew older and lost the freshness of 
youth, they should pay more attention to their dress. 
There is great wisdom and good sense in the remark of 
the sage of Monticello. 



ROGER SHERMAN. 

This distinguished statesman and sterling patriot, like 
President Andrew Johnson, commenced life a mechanic. 
Johnson was bound to a tailor when a boy, and Sher- 
man apprenticed to a shoemaker. They both continued 
to work at their respective trades several years after 
they became of age. Neither of them had any educa- 
tion, or property, or influential friends, and yet they 
both rose to eminence and were distinguished for their 
talents, learning and virtues. Benjamin Franklin com- 
menced his illustrious life as an apprenticed printer, and 
Langdon Cheves, one of the greatest and purest of 
American statesmen, commenced his career in a shop, 
belonging to his father, on Sullivan's Island. George 
McDuffie, whom Colonel Benton pronounced " more elo- 
quent than Demosthenes in his prime," was a clerk in 
a store in Augusta till he was a man grown. Andrew 
Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, and President of the 
United States, worked some time at the saddler's trade. 
President Lincoln was splitting rails and rowing a boat 
on the Mississippi till he was a man grown. General 
Grant was a tanner's boy before he went to West Point. 
And Nathaniel Greene, a much greater General, hero 
and patriot, was a Quaker blacksmith till he entered 
the American Revolution. I might mention many, very 
many others, illustrious in life, who commenced as 
humble as Roger Sherman, the shoemaker. 

This remarkable man, eminent as a Judge and Sena- 
tor, was born in Massachusetts, April 19, 1721, fifteen 
years after the birth of the printer Franklin, in 
the same State. He was bound au apprentice to a 
shoemaker by his father, when a little boy. He con- 
tinued to work at his trade till he was twenty- 



ROGER SHERMAN. 489 

two or three years old, and supported his widowed 
mother and her younger children. During all this 
time he was most diligently reading and studying 
whenever he had leisure to do so. He was particularly 
fond of the study of mathematics, and made great pro- 
gress in that science. He afterwards became county 
surveyor, like George Washington, and made astrono- 
mical calculations for an almanac, published in New 
York. 

In 1743, when he was twenty-two years old, he 
moved to Connecticut and joined his elder brother in 
keeping a little shop. There he read law and was 
admitted to the Connecticut Bar, when he was thirty- 
three years old, six years older than Demosthenes, 
Cicero, and Patrick Henry were, when they made their 
first great efforts at the Bar. Although Roger Sherman 
was not so eloquent as these illustrious orators, he was 
nevertheless an able advocate, and made a learned 
Judge and a great Senator. Soon after his admission to 
the Bar he was elected a member of the Connecticut 
Legislature, and was several times re-elected. 

In 1761 he moved to New Haven from New Mil- 
ford where he had previously resided in Connecticut. 
No doubt he became conscious of the genius within him, 
he wished a larger theatre for the display of his learning 
and talents. Four years after his removal to New 
Haven he was elected a Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas and a member of " the upper house " of the Leg- 
islature. In those days a man could be a Judge and a 
member of the Legislature at the same time. Mr. Sher- 
man held both these offices for nineteen years, and was 
also a member of Congress. 

In 1774 Roger Sherman was elected a member of the 
Continental Congress, and continued a member of that 
congress for fifteen years. How he managed to discharge 
the duties of Judge of the Superior Court and member 
of the Connecticut Legislature at the same time it is 
hard to conceive. But it is probable that there was not 



490 ROGER SHERMAN. 

much business done in court during the Revolutionary- 
war. There were a great many Judges in the old Con- 
tinental Congress, and even after the organization of the 
present Federal Government. Chief Justice Jay was 
sent on a mission to England, by Washington, without 
resigning his high office. It is said that John Adams, 
who was then Vice-President of the United States, 
desired this appointment without resigning his office of 
Vice-President. 

Mr. Sherman was an active member of the old Conti- 
nental Congress; and when a committee was appointed 
to draft the Declaration of Independence he was placed on 
that committee with John Adams, Dr. Franklin, Robert 
R. Livingston and Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson in- 
forms us in his notes of the proceedings of the Congress, on 
the Declaration of Independence, that when the Virginia 
instructions to their delegates were submitted, directing 
them to declare the colonies free and independent, South 
Carolina and Pennsylvania voted against their adoption. 
New Jersey was divided, and New York did not vote 
at all. The resolutions were reported to the House, and 
Mr. Edward Rutledge said if they were postponed till 
the next day, he and his colleagues, though disapproving, 
would vote for them for the sake of unanimity. There 
were a great many warm and zealous patriots who 
thought the Declaration of Independence premature, 
that is, they thought the people would not at that time 
approve such a step. Roger Sherman never hesitated, 
and finally all the members signed the Declaration of 
Independence except Mr. Dickinson, the author of the 
41 Farmer Letters," and he was as true a patriot as any 
of them, but over-prudent and cautious. 

In 1787, Mr. Sherman was elected a member of the 
Federal Convention to form a Constitution for the 
United States; and the debates of the convention, by Mr. 
Madison, show the active, wise, and important part he 
took in the formation of our Federal Constitution. The 
convention assembled May 25th, 1787, but Mr. Sher- 



ROGER SHERMAN. 491 

man did not take his seat until the 30th of May. The 
resolutions of Mr. Randolph, of Virginia, the draft of a 
constitution by Mr. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, 
had been already submitted to the convention. Mr. 
Madison shows very conclusively that the draft of Mr. 
Pinckney as now published was not the original draft 
submitted by him. The published draft contains sev- 
eral provisions, which Mr. Pinckney strenuously op- 
posed three months after he had submitted his original 
draft. The present draft, published in 1819, is so much 
like the Federal Constitution, as agreed on in conven- 
tion, that no one can suppose it was the original draft of 
Mr. Pinckney, submitted when the convention assem- 
bled. It must have been drawn up towards the latter 
part of the session of the convention. 

Mr. Sherman was a States' rights man in the Federal 
Convention, and objected to the constitution deviating 
too much from the Articles of the Confederation. He 
wished all powers of the government left to the States 
which were not absolutely needed for the ends of the 
Union. On the subject of prohibiting the slave trade 
he was opposed to the prohibition, and also to levying a 
tax of ten dollars on each slave imported. Virginia 
voted in favor of the prohibition and Connecticut against 
it. Mr. Jefferson says that his section of the Declara- 
tion of Independence on this subject was stricken out, 
out of respect to the wishes of the Carolinas and Georgia. 

He likewise says the Northern States which were con- 
cerned in this trade were a little tender-footed on the 
subject. The truth is they felt as deep an interest in 
the continuance of the African slave trade as South 
Carolina did, for they were reaping immense profits by 
this diabolical traffic. 

In regard to the Federal Congress, Mr. Sherman 
preferred one house, like the old Congress, to two 
houses; but said if there were two one should represent 
the equality of the States, and the other the population 
of the States. Dr. Franklin at one time ridiculed the 



492 ROGER SHERMAN. 

having two legislative bodies, and said it was like hitch- 
ing an extra yoke of oxen to the tail of a cart to pull 
the other way. But the wisdom of having a Senate and 
House of Representatives is now universally admitted 
and adopted all over the civilized world. 

The representation of the States, whether equal or in 
proportion to population, divided the small States from 
the larger, and the convention came to a dead lock in 
June. Dr. Franklin proposed that they should have 
prayers every morning and ask the assistance of the 
Almighty Ruler of the universe. Roger Sherman sec- 
onded the motion, but it was not adopted. 

Mr. Gerry, of Massachusetts, was afraid the new 
Western States would, after a while, have the power to 
control the Federal government, and he therefore pro- 
posed that they should not have an equal representation 
in Congress with the old thirteen. This Mr. Sherman 
opposed, and said their descendants were as likely to be 
citizens of the new States as of the old ones. He was 
opposed to the executive being independent of the Legis- 
lature, and favored a plural executive. This was Mr. 
Calhoun's doctrine sixty years afterwards. Mr. Sher- 
man favored the election of a president for three years, 
and his re-eligibility. He should be elected, too, by 
Congress and not by the people. This was at one time 
adopted by the votes of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The States of 
Pennsylvania and Delaware voted against it. 

Mr. Sherman proposed that if no election of president 
was made by the people, that the House of Representa- 
tives should choose the president by ballot, each State 
having one vote. It was proposed by other members 
that the Senate in such a case elect the president. He- 
opposed an absolute negative of the president on legisla- 
tion, and favored an executive council being given the 
president. He advocated the election of Senators by the 
State Legislatures, and proposed that they should be- 



ROGER SHERMAN. 493 

elected for six years. He wished the judges to be ap- 
pointed by the Senate, and members of Congress elected 
by the State Legislatures. He favored annual elections, 
and that the representatives should be ineligible to Fed- 
eral offices. Had this proposition been adopted it would 
have been a wise one. 

Although opposed to slavery Mr. Sherman advocated 
the introducing of slaves into the ratio of representation 
as justly due the Southern people. This showed great 
liberality on his part. He opposed the proposition of 
Charles Pinckney to give Congress a negative on State 
legislation. He was opposed to the States issuing paper 
money. In regard to making it the duty of a State to 
deliver up fugitive slaves he " saw no more propriety in 
the public seizing and surrendering a slave or servant, 
than a horse." But he voted for the clause as it stands 
in the constitution, as did the whole convention. He 
denounced the right of Congress to pass a bankrupt law, 
and Connecticut was the only State that voted against 
this clause in the constitution. 

Mr. Pinckney moved that " no religious test shall ever 
be required as a qualification to any office or public 
trust under the authority of the United States. Mr. 
Sherman thought it unnecessary, the prevailing liberal- 
ity being a sufficient security against such tests." But 
the proposition was adopted unanimously and Mr. Sher- 
man voted for it. 

This analysis of Mr. Sherman's speeches and votes in 
the Federal convention, though not complete, will show 
what manner of statesman he was. 

When the convention of Connecticut assembled to 
consider the adoption of the Constitution, Mr. Sherman 
was a member. It is said a majority of the members 
were opposed to the Constitution, and thought it 
infringed too much on the rights of the States. But 
owing to the influence of Chief Justice Ellsworth and 
Mr. Sherman it was adopted. Unfortunately no pro- 
ceedings or debates of this convention have ever been 



494 ROGER SHERMAN. 

published. There is nothing in Elliott's Debates or* 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution in the different 
States except a fragment of one short speech. In the 
South Carolina Legislature the vote on calling a con- 
vention to consider the Federal Constitution, was a 
majority of one only ! 

When the Federal Government was organized we 
find Judge Sherman elected a member of Congress from 
New Haven, and a very active and prominent member 
he was until transferred to the Senate of the United 
States. In that body we have very meagre sketches of 
what was done in the early history of the Federal gov- 
ernment. In the first session of the first Congress 
Judge Sherman advocated the levying duties on imports, 
instead of direct taxation. His speech is a very sensible 
one. The duties imposed by this Congress were only 
five per cent, ad valorem. In modern times for the 
purpose of encouraging manufactures, this duty has 
been increased to fifty per cent. 

The Senate passed a resolution that the President's 
title should be " His Highness, the President of the 
United States of America and Protector of their Liber- 
ties." This silly piece of vanity, on the part of the 
Senate, Judge Sherman opposed, as well as the title of 
" His Excellency," and all other titles. The House of 
Representatives had the good sense to reject all titles 
for the President; and left him to be addressed simply 
as " President of the United States." In regard to 
giving the President power to dismiss his cabinet with- 
out the consent of the Senate, Judge Sherman was 
opposed to giving this power. General Sumter, of 
South Carolina, said : "Thisjbill appears to my mind so 
subversive of the Constitution and its consequences so 
destructive to the liberties of the people, that I cannot 
consent to let it pass without expressing my detestation 
of the principle it contains." It has nevertheless been 
the law of the land ever since the organization of the 
first cabinet. 



ROGER SHERMAN. 495 

In the amendments proposed to the Constitution by 
the first Congress, Mr. Tucker, of South Carolina, pro- 
posed to add the right of the people to instruct their 
representatives in Congress. Judge Sherman opposed 
this amendment. " If the members were to be guided 
by instructions," said Judge Sherman, "there would be 
no use in deliberation ; all that a member would have 
to do would be to produce his instructions, and lay 
them on the table and let them speak for him I" His 
constituents might instruct him to vote for an uncon- 
stitutional law, in violation of his oath to support the 
Constitution. Instead of a representative Republic, 
we should have a pure Democracy. 

In 1792, on the resignation of Senator Johnson, of 
Connecticut, Judge Sherman was elected a member of 
the United States Senate. He served two sessions in 
the Senate and died July 23, 1893. It is truthfully 
said of him, " His services to the country were invalu- 
able, and few of his contemporaries left their impress 
more clearly upon American institutions." Like 
Franklin, Jackson, Greene and Washington, he was 
one of nature's noblemen. Though born in humble 
poverty, and apprenticed to a shoemaker, the nobility 
of his nature and his great intellectual endowments 
could not be suppressed and concealed from the world. 

I believe General Sherman, the great Incendiary of 
the South, claims his descent from or kinship with this 
great and good man. After many crosses, the Sherman 
blood of 1776 may run very thin in the veins, of the 
General. Roger Sherman was a man of a great deal 
of dry humor and wit. In the old Continental Congress 
a member said he detested the English so much that he 
wished the Americans to speak a different language, 
and praised the Greek as the most beautiful of all lan- 
guages. Mr. Sherman said he was too old to begin to 
learn Greek, and hoped the member would make the 
English speak that language and leave their vernacular 
tongue for the use of the Americans only. 



DAVID RAMSAY. 

The United States are indebted to the Irish and their 
"descendants for a great many of the patriots and heroes 
of the Revolution. The Scotch, with some distinguished 
exceptions, such as Witherspoon, Lord Stirling and 
others, were mostly tories in the war of Independence. 
Their clanships, following a chieftain and obeying all 
his orders, have made them loyal, and that loyalty, on 
the extinction of the Stuarts, was transferred with equal 
fidelity to the House of Hanover. The Irish, from the 
long and cruel oppressions of their government, are dev- 
otees of liberty and have no loyalty. They and their 
descendants in America were ready at any time to throw 
off their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and 
become ardent and zealous revolutionists. 

David Ramsay, the subject of this sketch, was the son 
of an Irishman. He was born in Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, on the 2d day of April, 1749. His father, 
James Ramsay, was a respectable farmer, who by his 
own labor supported his family and educated his chil- 
dren. His sons all had a collegiate education. David 
graduated at Princeton. In his infancy he manifested 
an extraordinary love of reading and study. Before he 
was twelve years old he was prepared to enter college ! 
and was appointed assistant tutor in a respectable acad- 
emy at that early age. Governor Hayne, in his memoir 
of Dr. Ramsay, says, whilst a child at school, grown 
young men would take the little fellow on their knees 
and get him to learn them their lessons. After teaching 
one or two years, young David entered the sophomore 
class in Princeton college. He was prepared, it is said, 
lo enter the junior class, but in consequence of his youth 
he was persuaded to enter a lower class. He passed 
496 



DAVID RAMSAY. 497 

through college with a high reputation for learning and 
talent, and graduated in 1765. He then spent two 
years in Maryland in teaching a classical school, before 
he commenced his professional studies. How many 
great men in the United States have commenced life by 
teaching school! 

Dr. Ramsay commenced the study of medicine in 
Philadelphia, and attended regularly the lectures in the 
Pennsylvania College. The celebrated Doctor Benjamin 
Rush was at that time a professor in this college. He 
and his young student formed a mutual friendship for 
each other, which continued unbroken through life. 
The following extraordinary recommendation of Dr. 
Kamsay was given by Dr. Rush : " Dr. Ramsay stud- 
ied physic regularly with Dr. Bond, attended the hos- 
pital and public lectures of medicines, and afterwards 
graduated Bachelor of Physic with great eclat; it is 
saying but little of him to tell you that he is far superior 
to any person we ever graduated at our college; his 
abilities are not only good, but great ; his talents and 
knowledge universal ; I never saw so much strength of 
memory and imagination united to so fine a judgment. 
His manners are polished and agreeable, his conversa- 
tion lively, and his behavior to all men always without 
offence. Joined to all these, he is sound in his princi- 
ples; strict, nay more, severe in his morals; and attach- 
ed, not by education only, but by principle, to the dis- 
senting interest. He will be an acquisition to your 
society. He writes, talks, and what is more, lives well. 
I can promise more for him in everything, than I could 
for myself." Higher praise from a higher source than 
this couldn't be had by a young man just entering life. 
And his character ever afterwards justified the correct- 
ness of this praise. 

After graduating in medicine, Dr. Ramsay established 
himself in Maryland, as a practicing physician, and 
continued there for one year, with high reputation ; and 
then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where a 



498 DAVID EAMSAY. 

wider field was opened for his talents and skill. He 
rapidly rose to eminence in his profession, and great 
popularity as a patriot and statesman. He was an 
ardent friend of freedom and his country ; and one of the 
earliest and most zealous advocates of American inde- 
pendence. Immediately after the declaration of Amer- 
ican independence he was elected a member of the South 
Carolina Legislature, and continued to serve in that 
body till the war was over. His talents, learning and 
patriotism made him a prominent politician during that 
period, and one of great influence and consideration. In 
1778 he was appointed to deliver an oration on the 4th 
of July, which Governor Hayne says was the first ever 
delivered in the United States on the anniversary of 
American independence. This may be so ; but Samuel 
Adams had the honor of being selected by Congress to 
deliver an oration on American independence the first of 
August, 1776. This, however, was not the anniversary 
of American independence, and Governor Hayne may 
be correct in his assertion. But it is remarkable that 
there should have been no oration delivered on this 
subject on the 4th of July, 1777, in any portion of the 
United States. Twenty years ago there was scarcely 
a county in any of the United States where the 4th 
of July was not celebrated. Since the close of the con- 
federate war, the carpet-bag, scallawag and negro gov- 
ernment of the Southern States caused all decent and 
patriotic men to lose all interest in the celebration of the 
4th of July. They thought very properly that it would 
have been better for us to have remained British prov- 
inces than to live under such an infamous government. 
They, therefore, ceased to celebrate the day; but it is to 
be hoped that now we are restored to self-government, 
this great day will be celebrated as usual. 

At every period of the war Dr. Ramsay spoke and 
wrote boldly in favor of independence. His speeches 
and fugitive pieces were of great service to the cause of 
American liberty. He wrote " a sermon on tea," 



DAVID RAMSAY. 499 

which excited much attention at the time. The text 
taken is from the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians : 
" Touch not, taste not, handle not." Lord North is 
very ludicrously represented as holding forth chains 
and halters in one hand, and in the other a cup of tea, 
while the genius of America exclaims, "touch not, 
taste not, handle not, for ' in the day thou drinkest 
thereof, thou shalt surely die." In his youth, Dr. 
Ramsay was distinguished for wit and humor, but in 
his old age this quality left him. He was a member of 
the Council of Safety for two years in Charleston, 
and banished to Florida with a large number of the 
most prominent citizens of the State, by Lord Corn- 
wallis. There he remained in prison eleven months. 
He was finally exchanged, and on his return to South 
Carolina immediately took his seat in the Legislature 
assembled at Jackson borough. He opposed the confis- 
cation acts passed by this Legislature, and urged that 
the better policy was after achieving our independence 
to forgive our erring brethren. He thought some of 
them acted conscientiously and from principle. But 
the remembrance of the wrongs done by the tories and 
British army was too fresh in the recollection of the 
members for them to pursue so humane a course. A 
large number of estates were confiscated, and many poor 
deluded citizens exiled. Some were afterwards per- 
mitted to return and possess their property after the 
excitement of the war had subsided. 

In 1782 Dr. Ramsay was elected by the Legislature 
a member of the Continental Congress, and he was a 
very active and useful member of that body. He was 
an eloquent speaker, as well as an able writer, fluent in 
his words, and pure in his diction. His arguments 
were logical and lucid, and he seldom failed to convince 
his audience. He was again elected a member of Con- 
gress in 1785, and for twelve months was president of 
the Continental Congress. This shows the high esti- 
mate that patriotic body placed on his ability and 
services as a statesman and patriot. In 1786 he 



500 DAVID RAMSAY. 

resumed his practice in Charleston as a physician and 
was eminently successful. 

Dr. Ramsay was not only eminent as a statesman 
and patriot in civil life, but he entered the war as a 
surgeon in the army, and was at the siege of Savannah. 
He was ready at all times to serve his country in any 
position where his services Were most useful. He was 
unambitious, and one of the most disinterested of men 
in public and in private. 

But Dr. Ramsay was still more eminent as an histo- 
rian. He was, in fact, the father of history in the 
United States. Immediately after the war he published 
his history of the Revolution in South Carolina, and 
on going to Congress in 1785 he determined to enlarge 
his history and make it the history of the whole revo- 
lutionary war. He was encouraged to do this by the 
northern members, who gave him many facts and much 
material for his " History of the Revolution." Then 
he published the history of South Carolina in two 
volumes. He next published the " history of the 
United States," in three volumes. He had been all his 
life preparing a " Universal History," which was pub- 
lished after his death in seven or eight volumes. It is 
wonderful that he should have prepared and written so 
many historical works whilst actively engaged in a 
most extensive practice as a physician. But it is said 
he never slept more than four hours. It is very true, 
that some men can do with great deal less sleep than 
others. Four hours' sleep were enough for Napoleon, 
whilst his great enemy, William Pitt, prime minister of 
England, required eight or ten. 

The works of Dr. Ramsay have made him famous in 
Europe as well as in America. His history of the rev- 
olution in South Carolina was translated into French 
immediately after its publication. In writing his histo- 
ries of the revolution he had the assistance of Dr. 
Franklin, Dr. Witherspoon, General Green and Gene- 
ral Washington. 



DAVID RAMSAY. 



501 



In addition to these histories we have mentioned, Dr. 
Kamsay wrote the life of General Washington, and a 
most interesting memoir of his wife. He also pub- 
lished an oration on the acquisition of Louisiana, a 
eulogy on Dr. Rush, a review of the progress of medi- 
cine in the eighteenth century, a history of the Con- 
gregational church, and a great many other valuable 
papers on religious, medical, scientific and political sub- 
jects. 

Dr. Ramsay was assassinated in 1815 by a maniac, 
in broad daylight near the Doctor's house in Charles- 
ton. This assassin had been indicted for an assault on 
his lawyer, and the court appointed Dr. Ramsay and 
Dr. Simons to examine him and report the condition of 
his mind. They reported that he was unquestionably 
insane, and in consequence of their report, the prisoner 
was kept in jail until it was supposed that his mind 
was restored. He was then discharged and in a short 
time his derangement returned. The Doctor was aware 
of his threats but paid no attention to them. The 
cause of his hostility to Dr. Ramsay was the report 
he made that he was insane. The Doctor lived two 
days after he was shot in the back, and knowing that 
he could not survive, he requested his friends not to 
have the assassin prosecuted for his murder, as he was 
unquestionably insane, and not accountable for his 
crime. He was a tailor, and his name was Linnen, 

Dr. Ramsay was thrice married, first to a daughter 
of the celebrated Doctor Witherspoon, president of 
Princeton College, and a signer of American Independ- 
ence, and his third wife was a daughter of Henry 
Laurens, the great patriot and statesman of South 
Carolina. But he left no children except by the last 
marriage. 

A want of judgment in the affairs of the world was 
said to have been the weak point in Dr. Ramsay's 
character. He had studied human nature from books 
and not from observation. This is the fault of all great 



502 DAVID RAMSAY. 

literary men. Dr. Ramsay lost by the Santee Canal 
thirty thousand dollars. He was frequently made the 
dupe of designing and fraudulent men, and ultimately 
ruined by them financially. He was kind, generous 
and confiding, and knowing the rectitude of his own 
heart he never suspected the duplicity of that of others. 
His whole life was devoted to the formation and prose- 
cution of plans for the good of others. He was a phi- 
lanthropist in the true sense of the word, and devoted 
his life to the benefit of mankind. " As a husband, 
as a father, and in every domestic relation of life he 
was alike exemplary." He was a most sincere and 
devout Christian, and on his death-bed said : " I am 
not afraid to die." Why should such a man, so blame- 
less in life, so full of love for his country, for mankind 
and for his God, be afraid to die. But there are thou- 
sands dying every day, who, although " not afraid to 
die," yet wish to live. And no doubt this was the 
wish of this great and good man, who was not only an 
ornament to his native and adopted States, but to the 
whole Union, and to human nature and literature. 

The oration of Dr. Ramsay on the second anniversary 
of American Independence is given in full by the 
author of " American Eloquence," and if it be the first 
ever delivered on such an occasion, as Governor Hayne 
asserts it to be, there is some doubt whether this 4th of 
July oration has ever been surpassed in power, elo- 
quence and ability, by the hundreds and thousands 
which have been delivered since by the first orators 
and statesmen of America. He commences by saying: 
" We are now celebrating the anniversary of our eman- 
cipation from British tyranny; an event that will con- 
stitute an illustrious era in the history of the world, 
and which promises an extension of all those blessings 
to our country for which we would choose to live, or 
dare to die." 

In comparing our present form of government with 
the Royal government thrown off, he truthfully and 



DAVID RAMSAY. 503 

beautifully says : " It is much more favorable to purity 
•of morals, and better calculated to promote all our 
important interests. Honesty, plain dealing and simple 
manners, were never made the patterns of courtly 
behavior. Artificial manners always prevail in kingly 
governments ; and royal courts are reservoirs from 
whence insincerity, hypocrisy, dissimulation, pride, 
luxury and extravagance deluge and overwhelm the 
body of the people. On the other hand Republics are 
favorable to truth, sincerity, frugality, industry and 
simplicity of manners. Equality, the life and soul of 
•commonwealths, cuts off all pretentions to preferment, 
but those which arise from extraordinary merit, whereas 
in royal governments he that can best please his supe- 
riors by the low acts of fawning and adulation is most 
likely to obtain favor. 

" The arts and sciences, which languished under the 
low projects of subjection, will now raise their droop- 
ing heads and spread far and wide, till they have 
reached the remotest parts of this untutored continent. 
It is the happness of our present constitution that all 
offices lie open to men of merit, of whatever rank or 
•condition, and that even the reins of State may be held 
by the poorest man if possessed of abilities equal to the 
important station. We are no more to look for the 
blessings of government, to hungry courtiers, or the 
needy dependents of British nobility ; but must edu- 
cate our own children for these exalted purposes. When 
subjects, we had scarcely any other share in government, 
but to obey the arbitrary mandates of a British Parlia- 
ment. But honor with her dazzling pomp, interest 
with her golden lure, and patriotism with her heart- 
felt satisfaction, jointly call upon us, now, to qualify 
ourselves and posterity for the bench, the army, the 
navy, the learned professions, and all the departments 
of civil government. 

" The times in which we live, and the government 
we have lately adopted, all conspire to fan the sparks 
•of genius in every breast and kindle them into flame. 



504 DAVID EAMSAY. 

" The weight of each State in the continental scale 
will ever be proportioned to the abilities of its repre- 
sentatives in Congress. Hence, an emulation will take 
place, each contending with the other which shall pro- 
duce the most accomplished statesmen. 

We are the first people in the world who have had 
it in their power to choose their own form of government. 
Constitutions were forced on all other nations by the 
will of their conquerors, or they were formed by accident, 
caprice, or the over-bearing influence of prevailing par- 
ties or particular persons. 

" Such will be the fruits of our glorious institution, 
that in a little time gay fields, adorned with the yellow 
robes of ripening harvest, will smile in the utmost 
depths of our western frontier, where impassable forests 
now frown over the uncultivated earth. The face of 
our interior country will be changed from a barren 
wilderness into the hospitable abodes of peace and 
plenty. Cities, too, wil] rise majestic to the view on 
those very spots which are now hunted over by savage 
beasts and more savage men. 

" As at the conflagration of Corinth, the various 
melted metals running together formed a new one, 
called Corinthian brass, which was superior to any of 
its component parts — in like manner, perhaps it is the will 
of Heaven that a new empire should be here formed 
of the different nations of the old world, which will rise 
snperior to all that have gone before it, and extend 
human happiness to the utmost possible limits." 

The above is a beautiful idea that the running 
together of the different nations of the earth, English, 
Irish, Scotch, French, Germans, etc., on the American 
continent, and being amalgamated, will produce a 
people superior to all the world as the Corinthian 
brass, composed of different metals, was superior to any 
of its component parts. 

He says it has never yet been fairly tried how far the 
equal principles of republican government would secure 



DAVID RAMSAY. 505 

the happiness of the governed. The ancient Republics 
had no idea of a representative government. He con- 
tends that if Greece had ever had a governmental head 
like the national Congress, she would probably have 
preserved her freedom to the present day. 

In conclusion the orator says : "Ever since the flood, 
true religion, literature, arts, empire and riches have 
taken a slow and gradual course from East to West, 
and are now about fixing their favorite abode in this 
new Western world. Our sun of political happiness is 
already risen and hath lifted its head over the moun- 
tains, illuminating our hemisphere with literary light 
and polished life. Our independence will redeem one 
quarter of the globe from tyranny and oppression, and 
consecrate it to the chosen seat of truth, justice, freedom,, 
learning and religion. We are laying the foundations 
of happiness for countless millions. Generations yet 
unborn will bless us for the blood-bought inheritance 
we are about to bequeath to them. Oh happy times I 
Oh glorious days ! Oh kind, indulgent, beautiful 
Providence, that we live in this highly favored period, 
and have the honor of helping forward these great 
events, and of suffering in a cause of such infinite 
importance." 

These extracts give, however, a very imperfect idea 
of the merit of this oration. As a whole it is grand, 
eloquent and beautiful, and shows the statesman, 
patriot and polished writer. 

Dr. Ramsay left four sons and four daughters. One 
of the daughters was the second wife of her cousin, 
Hon. Henry L. Pinckney. His son, David, married his 
cousin, the daughter of Governor Charles Pinckney, and 
his son, Dr. James Ramsay, married his cousin, Miss Lau- 
rens, and by her had two sons, both died young and unmar- 
ried. David Ramsay, the eldest, inherited his grand- 
father's talents and nobility of character ; he was opposed 
to secession, but after South Carolina seceded, like a 
true patriot, fought in her defence, and was killed early 



506 DAVID RAMSAY. 

in the war while fighting on one of the islands near 
Charleston. If his life had been spared he would 
have done honor to the name of Ramsay. 

The three single daughters taught a school of high 
repute in Charleston. In their veins were mingled 
the blood of Laurens and Rut-ledge with that of Ramsay. 

I remember seeing a son of his in the State Senate, 
and another one an officer in the State Bank. He left 
no male descendant of the name of Ramsay. 



RUFUS CHOATE. 

This " wonder and marvel " of a man, as Daniel 
Webster pronounced Rufus Choate to be, was not only- 
distinguished as a statesman, but pre-eminent as a lawyer 
and advocate. Mr. Edward G. Parker, of Boston, in his 
most interesting "Reminiscences of Rufus Choate," says 
he was a cross between the Yankee and the Greek in 
character. But there was not a particle of the yankee 
in his nature, character or genius, although born in 
Massachussets of Puritanic ancestors. Nor was he Saxon, 
Celt or Gaelic in his character, appearance and genius, 
but wholly oriental. His dark, sallow complexion, very 
slender form, and fiery, excentric impulses, would have 
stamped him with an Eastern origin. He might have 
been taken for a Saracen, or a descendant of the wild 
Bedouin of the Great Desert. He may have had some 
of the national characteristics of the Greek, and did have 
their love of learning, their exquisite perfection of lan- 
guage and taste for the beautiful in art and nature, but 
he had nothing of the cold, calculating, selfish, pas- 
sionless yankee or New Englander about him. He 
cared nothing for money, was not ambitious, and had no 
pride or vanity. He was frank, open, generous and 
sincere in every word and act of his life, devoted to his 
profession, literature and the fine arts, and caring nothing 
for general society. He was kind, cordial and bland in 
his manners, and loved most devotedly by the people. 
He was liberal and generous in his disposition, and never 
denied when sought, an act of charity. 

Mr. Parker was his law student on terms of great 
intimacy with him for a number of years; and like Bos- 
well, the biographer of Dr. Samuel Johnson, he made 
memoranda of all his conversations. These conversa- 
5°7 



508 RUFUS CHOATE. 

tions with sketches of " the great advocate," and extracts 
from his speeches, compose the reminiscences embodied 
in his most interesting book. This is the most valuable 
and reliable species of biography. It makes you ac- 
quainted with the man by his own words, expressions 
and sentiments. It was said of Mr. Choate, when the 
news of his death in Canada reached Boston, that "he 
had left no man on earth like himself." There may 
have been more living as eloquent as he was, but they 
did not possess all of his virtues, eccentricities and mar- 
vellous characteristics. 

Rufus Choate was born in Essex county, Massachu- 
setts, October lst,1799, just forty-nine years afterthe birth 
of that colossus of literature and law, Theophilus Parsons,, 
in the same county. Old Essex has the honor of having 
given to the United States two of the most remarkable 
men that ever appeared in our courts of justice or legis- 
lative halls. It is to be regretted that Mr. Parker has 
not told us more about the parentage, familv, and early 
life of this "wonder and marvel " of a man. We like 
to know all about the father and mother of a great man, 
his boyhood and early training, his associates, and how 
he was brought up. It would seem that the parents of 
Rufus Choate were poor and humble, and his advantages 
of early education were not great. He manifested an 
unquenchable thirst for knowledge in early life, and an 
ardent wish to secure a collegiate education. This he 
succeeded in acquiring by teaching school and going in 
debt. He entered Dartmouth college, the alma mater 
of Daniel Webster, when he was fifteen years old, and 
was graduated in due course of time with the highest 
honors of his class. 

In college Rufus acquired a high reputation for schol- 
arship and oratory. He said that he studied every 
night till one or two o'clock. He said to Mr. Parker 
that hard study was not going to hurt any boy in good 
health. If he had said that very few boys in good 
health were ever known to hurt themselves by hard 



RUFUS CHOATE. 509 

•study, it would perhaps have been more correct. He 
remained in college as tutor one year after he graduated. 
Then he entered the law school at Cambridge, and after 
remaining there two or three months he went to Wash- 
ington and read law one year in the office of William 
Wirt, then Attorney-General of the United States. He 
finished his legal studies in Salem, Massachusetts, with 
Judge Cumming. 

After the admission of Mr. Choate to the bar he es- 
tablished himself in his native county, and his success 
was very extraordinary. He got into a full practice and 
took all cases that came. First come, first served, was 
his maxim. And what is wonderful, is that in this 
miscellaneous practice all cases taken as they came, civil 
and criminal, he succeeded in almost every case in gain- 
ing the verdict before the jury ! He displayed an ability 
and tact in the management of his cases which was most 
remarkable. It seems that he understood human nature 
perfectly. He knew all the jury, and knew how to 
appeal to each one separately. If he saw a juror inatten- 
tive to his argument he went up to him and begged him 
for his attention. In one case where a Roman Catholic 
priest was indicted for an assault on a woman on the 
sidewalk, he contended that it was an unintentional jos- 
tling up against her. Looking to one juror who was 
in the habit of attending prayer meetings and preaching 
at night, he illustrated the case by a crowd coming out 
of the church in the dark. To another juror, who was 
fond of attending musical concerts, looking at him, he 
compared the jostling to the company running against 
each other as they retired from the performance. And 
to a third, who was a politician, he alluded to the rush 
at such public gatherings. 

His manner at the Bar was as remarkable as his tact 
and eloquence. Although courteous and civil at all 
times to the court, the jury, his opposing counsel and 
witnesses, yet he was most impassioned and vehement 
in his argument and seemed wild in his exclamations. 



510 RUFUS CHOATE. 

Without any regard to rule or discipline, he would ges- 
ticulate in the most furious manner, throwing his arms 
in every direction, jumping up and lighting on the heels 
of his boots, and bending and twisting his body in all 
sorts of shapes ! There was nothing studied or graceful 
about hiiu. Sometimes he would come into court with 
three or four coats on of different colors. In the course 
of his argument, as he became heated by his exertions, he 
would pull off one coat, then another and another. When 
he moved to Boston, and commenced practicing in that 
sober, steady and polite city, his manner was very much 
ridiculed by the other members of the Bar ; but his 
success in gaining all of his verdicts began to alarm 
them. 

As a lawyer his reading was general, profound and 
perfect. He had a most retentive memory and could 
cite case and principle without any hesitation and cor- 
rectly. He studied his cases thoroughly out of court, 
and always came into court prepared at every point. 
He never brow-beat a witness, or was rude to them in 
his cross-examination. But with the utmost politeness 
and a tact that was wonderful, he never failed to catch 
a witness who was swearing falsely. If he saw that the 
witness opposed to him was giving his testimony cor- 
rectly, he seldom cross-examined him. He said that to 
make a witness repeat what he had testified to in his 
examination in chief, was only impressing the facts on 
the minds of the jurors. And very often by a rigid 
cross-examination the witness would state facts and cir- 
cumstances against his case which had been forgotten in 
his direct examination. He never argued a case to make 
a display of his learning or eloquence or to gain reputa- 
tion at the Bar. All that he thought of or cared for was 
to get the verdict, and to this his whole soul and all his 
energies were directed. 

It is said that Daniel Webster was only great on 
great occasions but that Rufus Choate was great on all 
occasions. He exerted himself as much in a small case 



RUPUS CHOATE. 511 

and was as learned and eloquent in its argument as if it 
had been a case involving thousands of dollars or life 
itself. He cared nothing for money and was moderate 
in his charges and neglectful in collecting his fees. He 
said that a lawyer should not only be learned in his pro- 
fession but that he should make himself thoroughly 
acquainted with all literature and all sciences. He was 
himself most learned in all classical literature, in all 
history and every branch of human knowledge. He 
seldom went into company but spent all of his leisure time 
in his library, which was very extensive. He was con- 
stantly buying books and fitting up shelves for them. 
For a rare work he would give any price. On one 
occasion he instructed a friend to attend an auction and 
bid as high as ten, fifteen and twenty dollars for certain 
books ; but there was one work to be sold which he told 
him to purchase at any price. This work sold for ten 
cents. No one else seemed to value it as highly as he did. 

His habit was, after his success at the Bar, to go to bed 
at ten o'clock and rise at six in the morning and take a 
walk of a mile or two before breakfast. He abandoned 
his college habit of sitting up till one or two o'clock at 
night. In this he was wise or he could not have lived. 
There is nothing like sleep to restore the worn out 
energies of body and mind. It is true that some men 
require more sleep than others, but as a general rule the 
division of time should be eight hours in twenty-four 
for sleeping, eight for relaxation and eight for study and 
business. 

Mr. Choate served one term in each branch of the 
Massachusetts Legislature and one term in the House 
of Representatives of the United States, and he was 
elected to fill Mr. Webster's vacancy in the Senate of 
the United States when Webster accepted a seat in 
President Harrison's cabinet. Whilst in the House of 
Representatives he made a very able speech in favor of 
a moderate tariff. This was in 1832, when it was pro- 
posed to reduce the duties on imports. He admitted 



512 EUFUS CHOATE. 

the tariff laws were injurious to the South, but to reduce 
the duties at that time would work a much greater 
injury to the manufacturing States. He said Massa- 
chusetts was opposed to protection in its origin, but after 
it had become the settled policy of the government, she 
withdrew her capital from commerce and invested it in 
manufactories. To withdraw this protection now would 
be the destruction of her manufacturing interest, which, 
had been built up on the faith of the government. 

In the Senate of the United States, Mr. Choate made 
a speech again in 1845, against the reduction of duties, 
and in favor of the rejection of Governor McDuffie's 
bill for that purpose. He also made a speech during 
the same session of the Senate against the constitutional 
right of admitting Texas into the Union under the treaty 
making power. As a specimen of his style of speaking 
I will give an extract of a sentence or two from that 
speech. " He held that we could not do this though it 
were ever so high an object of protection. We could 
not do it if it insured a thousand years of liberty to the 
Union. If this Texas annexation were to work all these 
incomparable and inconsistent and impossible good 
things — if it were to establish a millennium in every part 
of the earth, and furnish a good monopoly for Pennsyl- 
vania iron and Massachusetts shoes — if it should pro- 
duce all the cotton and sugar in the world, and be tilled 
only by the hands of the free — if, like the fabled garden 
of old, its rivers should turn out to run pearls, and its 
trees bear imperial fruit of gold — yet even then we 
could not admit her." To all these temptations he had 
but one answer — how could he do this and not sin 
against the Constitution. He cleaved to the constitution 
and abstained from any discussion upon the grounds of 
expediency. 

In many respects Mr. Choate was a Southern man, 
and it would have been happy for him if he had 
been born at the South. He said " Massachusetts poli- 
tics are narrow. In moral point of view, she has no 



RUFUS CHOATE. 513 

right to touch the subject of slavery. These zealots for- 
get that there may be conflicting duties, and that it is 
duty to support the compromise of slavery, to secure 
universal peace and prosperity. Massachusetts contin- 
ually breaks the foedus. Southern States, homogeneous 
in productions and characters peculiarly adapted form a 
separate State. Southern leaders are now busy on that 
really delightful task, the creation of a new common- 
wealth. New England is somewhat anti-progressive 
against acquisition of territory and free trade. She 
should catch that great gale of impulse, enthusiasm and 
enterprise, which is ever agitating and giving tone to 
America." 

He believed in State rights, and did not think that a 
State could be whipped back in the Union. He said, 
" In Kansas blood will be shed yet, but that is not the 
great danger. The danger in our Union is that a State's 
quo (or) a State in its sovereign capacity shall declare 
war and take the field. Whenever a State quo (or) a 
State, shall come out against the national government, 
we can't do anything ; for that which ordinarily would 
be treason is, as it were saved from being so by the flag 
of the State ; certainly at least so far as to save the point 
of honor. Herein lurks the great danger of our system 
of government." 

When Colonel Fremont was nominated as a sectional 
candidate for the Presidency, he came out boldly against 
him, and for Mr. Buchanan. He observed, " every duty 
and taste is against this party of the sections. They 
will conduct a canvass, every speech of which will be 
charged with hatred — to one portion of the country. I 
will never march in their party ; I have never yet seen, 
however, the good argument that slavery wasn't better 
for the blacks than freedom, as regards merely their sen- 
sations — the gratification of their merely sensual wants." 
He said he felt it clearly to be his duty to support Bu- 
chanan, for the Fremont party was a sectional, anti-Union 
party, and nothing should be left undone to defeat it. 



514 RUFUS CHOATE. 

Mr. Choate's conversations with Parker, in reference 
to public men and the classics, is particularly interesting 
and instructive. He said : " The Demosthenian is the 
style for oratoric success before the people — sharp and 
strong — might he less hold. You mustn't read lives with 
the idea of getting any facts. It's all a splendid ro- 
mance. Horace and Juvenal are for the Bar. Virgil 
contains nothing for quoting there, so terse, pithy, sen- 
tentious. Macaulay is not a historical style — an essayist ; 
his glitter wearisome in a history. Hume and Robin- 
son are both superior for style. 

" Napoleon, if he had not been employed in public 
affairs, would have become a great mathematician, a La 
Place. Caesar, the most remarkable man of the world, 
with all his revels, must have immensely labored. 
Erskine will live in the speeches reported by himself. 
Cicero on his eternal writings. Erskine spoke the best 
English ever spoken by an advocate. It was learned 
from Burke and Milton ; it's the finest, richest, and most 
remarkable English extant. Burke will live for ever. 
Brougham's style is very classic. Webster's idiom is 
not at all classic. Clay's reputation, he thinks, is ephem- 
eral. Webster has as living and enduring a reputa- 
tion as that kind of fame ever reaches. Brougham has 
more talent and is less self-indulgent, but will not live 
so long in memory. You ought to read Tacitus over 
and over to catch his idiom. These terse writers have 
the style which the Bar should affect; the Ciceronian is 
too diffuse and loose. 

" Sir Robert Peel had not either that heroic order of 
mind which wins the support most delightful to the 
magnanimous spirit, that of free, unrewarded admiration. 
His eloquence lacked the Direna mens, the burning en- 
thusiasm, the breathing thoughts, which sweep like tem- 
pests over minds. His was an adaptive, not a creative 
mind. 

" Pope in English, Horace in Latin, have the mastery 
of the finesses — the exquisite niceties, the curiosa felicitus 



RUFUS CHOATE. 515 

of speech. Mistake to think Burke was not, in his 
prime, a great orator. Erskine was a very vehement 
speaker. In addressing a j ury he would sometimes jump 
up and knock his feet together before he touched the 
floor again. He was very judicious in his forensic 
fights, never made a blunder. The management of his 
cases, too, was admirable. Master of every art and 
trick, and subtlety and contrivance. 

" Webster in his prime was a prodigious orator. He 
can give an effect to single passages greater than any 
man I ever saw. Clay was a great orator. His lan- 
guage was as an absorbing mind would naturally pick 
up in thirty years' intimacy with thoroughbred men. It 
is quite equal to William Pitt's. I have seen him in the 
middle of a speech in the Senate completely plobbergosted 
for want of a pinch of snuff — the only stimulus I ever 
knew him to use. Calhoun was a great reasoner and 
logician, arid as a desert, no pretentions to genuine elo- 
quence. He stood up straight and spoke clearly some 
thirty minutes generally. He spoke as Euclid would 
have spoken. He was full of fine-spun distinction, 
but lacked in later days common sense. 

" Demosthenes had in addition to iron logic and 
massive reason, an awful vehemence, perfectly tempes- 
tuous and boisterous ; a diction every worcf of which 
was clean cut and sterling like stamped gold ; a har- 
mony of numbers also. Legan's article in the New 
York Review on him is the best thing ever written in 
English about him. He was very common sense and 
straightforward. 

" Judge Woodbury is in many respects remarkable. 
Used to study sixteen hours a day, always very labo- 
rious — traveled with a book — studies too much — over- 
tasks and clouds his mind. Used to sleep on a board 
in order not to prolong his repose. Singularly deficient 
in taste and accomplishments in belles lettres, and polite 
letters and literature generally. 

" When I was with Wirt, I heard Pinckney speak 



516 RUFUS CHOATE. 

three days. The first two days he tore himself all to 
pieces ; but the third day, with his vast command of 
words rolling out, it was inexpressible music. He had 
a tough head. Judge Story's English was very common 
place and wishy-washy. His was a mere fluency, a rat- 
tle-clap common English. He never had time, amid 
his splendid legal accomplishments, to enlarge his vocab- 
ulary. 

" William Pitt was indebted for his charm of oratory 
mainly to his voice and his periods. These were equally 
and sometimes beautifully balanced, and most harmoni- 
ously constructed. The musical tide rode on with a 
fine flow. Macaulay's speeches, with their exquisite art 
of composition, were in the House of Commons very 
effective and captivating. Chatham's studies were very 
wide. His English is vastly before his son's. Boling- 
broke is rich and glorious. He had a Caesarian head. 
Kossuth was truly a most eloquent man. He has warm 
sensibilities and ardent imagination, and, more than all, 
an object of impassioned interest to him and to us." 

Mr. Choate was in the Senate of the United States 
from 1841 to 1845, and during that time made brilliant 
speeches on the tariff, Oregon, California, the Bankrupt 
Law, and the Courts of the United States. He was not, 
however* a very frequent debater. It was not his appro- 
priate field. He preferred being in court and before a 
jury, where he could gain verdicts by a sort of mesmeric 
eloquence. He returned to the Bar, and continued to 
practice his profession with pre-eminent success. He 
was frequently called upon to deliver orations* and 
addresses before the people on important occasions. He 
delivered an oration on the death of President Harrison 
before the people of Boston, in Faneuil Hall. On the 
death of Mr. Webster, who was his most intimate and 
bosom friend. Dartmouth College called on him to 
deliver an eulogy on the illustrious pupil and graduate 
of that institution. The citizens of Boston wished him 
to do the same thing in Faneuil Hall. But he declined 



RUFUS CHOATE. 517 

this last invitation, thinking that his oration would be 
more appropriate delivered within the walls of his and 
Mr. Webster's Alma Mater. July 4th, 1858, he deliv- 
ered an address before the young men's Democratic club 
of Boston. When the Republican party became a sec- 
tional party Mr. Choate left it and joined the Demo- 
crats. His great and noble heart was too large and his 
patriotism too broad to be confined to New England. 
He was a statesman and not a politician. He loved the 
whole Union, and was not disposed to oppress or insult 
any portion of it. 

The handwriting of Mr. Choate was as remarkable 
and extraordinary as his genius or eloquence. There 
was never anything like it in chirography, except the 
hieroglyphics on the Chinese tea chests sent to " the 
outer world." It was impossible for one unacquainted 
with his marks and scratches to decipher his handwriting. 
It looked something like a spider had crawled over the 
paper after getting out of an ink bottle. 

In person Mr. Choate was tall, slender and ungainly, 
lank and hollow-visaged, with a brilliant, dazzling eye, 
deeply sunk in his coffee-colored face. The hair of his 
head stood out in a wild, fantastic fashion. His smile, 
notwithstanding his hard features was sweet, and fasci- 
nating. His large head, remarkable for its length, and 
his broad high forehead, indicated his great intellectual 
powers. 

Mr. Choate died in Canada, July, 1859, where he 
had gone for his health. Faneuil Hall was draped in 
mourning, and opened for the reception of the people 
of Boston when the melancholy news reached that city. 
Mr. Everett and several other distinguished persons 
made addresses on the life and character of this great 
advocate, lawyer, statesman, scholar and patriot. 



FISHER AMES. 

There were few eminent statesmen of his day and 
time more distinguished as an orator than Fisher Ames, 
of Massachusetts. In olden times there were brilliant 
extracts from his speeches published, which were mem- 
orized and spoken by schoolboys at their exhibitions 
throughout the country. He was a fine logician, as well 
as a wise statesman and eloquent rhetorician. In American 
Eloquence, by Frank Moore, published in 1858, there are 
two of Mr. Ames's speeches in Congress, given as models 
of eloquence and statesmanship. The one on the " Com- 
mercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Na- 
tions," and the other on " Jay's celebrated Treaty with 
Great Britain in 1796." In the first he avows himself 
as the advocate of free trade and opposed to all restric- 
tions on commerce. We ought to be allowed to pur- 
chase in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest. He 
says : " Were I invested with the trust to legislate for 
mankind, it is very probable the first act of my authority 
would be to throw all the restrictive and prohibitory 
laws into the fire ; the resolutions on the table would not 
be spared. But, if I were to do so, it is probable I 
should have a quarrel on my hands with every civilized 
nation." These resolutions were introduced by Mr. 
Madison and advocated by him with great zeal and 
ability. 

The speech on Jay's treaty is indeed a model speech 
for an American statesman, patriot and orator. It con- 
tains thrilling bursts of eloquence, with sentiments of 
the highest honor and principles of the profoundest 
wisdom. He says : " The consequences of refusing to 
make provision for the treaty are not all to be foreseen. 
By rejecting, vast interests are committed to the sport of 
518 



FISHEE AMES. 519 

the winds. Chance becomes the arbiter of events, and it 
is forbidden to human foresight to count their number 
or measure their extent. Before we resolve to leap into the 
abyss, so dark and so profound, it becomes us to pause 
and reflect upon such of the dangers as are obvious and 
inevitable. If this assembly should be wrought into a 
temper to defy these consequences, it is in vain, it is decep- 
tive, to pretend that we can escape them. It is more 
than weakness to say, that as the public faith and vote 
have already settled the question, another tribunal than 
our own is already erected. The public opinion, not 
only of our own country but of the enlightened world, 
will pronounce a judgment that we cannot resist, that we 
dare not even affect to despise. Well may I urge it to 
men who know the worth of character, that it is no trivial 
calamity to have it contested. Refusing to do what the 
treaty stipulates shall be done, opens the controversy. 
Even if it should stand justified at last, a character that 
is vindicated is worse than it stood before, unquestioned 
and unquestionable. Like the plaintiff in an action of 
slander, we reach a reputation disfigured by invective, 
and even tarnished by too much fondling. In the con- 
test for the honor of the nation, it may receive some 
wounds, which, though they should heal, will leave scars. 
I need not say, for surely the feelings of every bosom 
have anticipated, that we cannot guard this sense of 
national honor, this everlasting fire, which alone keeps 
patriotism warm in the heart, with a sensibility too 
vigilant and jealous." 

It has been supposed that the Southern States are 
more congenial and more productive of eloquence than 
the Northern States. It is true that during the Revolu- 
tion there were no orators North equal in heart-stirring 
eloquence to Patrick Henry, John Rutledge, and Rich- 
ard Henry Lee. And since the Revolution, Henry 
Clay, Robert Y. Hayne, William Pinckney, and Hugh 
S. Legare have scarcely had their equals in any of the 
Northern States. Buckle, in his History of Civilization, 



520 FISHER AMES. 

a work of the greatest ability and learning, and the 
most profound philosophy and original thoughts, says 
that climate, soil, food and aspect of the country have 
their influence on the characteristics of every people. 
He contends that a southern country has been more favor- 
able to and productive of eloquence, poetry and paint- 
ing than a northern clime; and that the latter has been 
more productive of science and learning. Italy, Spain 
and Portugal have excelled in poetry and painting, 
without producing a single man of pre-eminent science 
and learning or philosophy. In ancient times the two 
greatest orators of the world, Demosthenes and Cicero, 
and the greatest poet of any age or country, Homer, 
were born in Greece and Rome, southern nations. But 
in modern times the North has produced a Bacon, a New- 
ton, and a Descartes, who stand unrivalled in learning, 
philosophy and science. 

There is no doubt that climate, soil, food and the 
general aspect of the country have their influence on 
mankind. All history proves it. The eastern countries 
have ever been distinguished for imagination. And all 
the great religions of the world, the Buddhist, Hebrew, 
Christian and Mohammedan, have had their origin in 
the East. But the North has not been altogether defi- 
cient in brilliancy of imagination ; Milton and Ossian, 
and Shakespeare and Byron as poets, and Burke as an 
orator, have not been surpassed. So, too, in the United 
States, the North has produced more brilliant poets than 
the South ; and as orators, Fisher Ames, and Sargeant 
and Prentiss, are the peers of any Southern orators for 
eloquence. Prentiss died when he was only forty-one. 
He was born and educated in Maine, moved to Missis- 
sippi after he had commenced the study of law, served 
one or two sessions in Congress, and made innumerable 
stump speeches. For brilliancy of imagination and thril- 
ling eloquence he had no superior. He was a cripple, 
and the most timid and bashful man in society that ever 
was, and yet in speaking he never knew what timidity or 



FISHER AMES. 521 

embarrassment was ! He used to say that if let down on the 
woolsack, in the English House of Lords, he would not 
feel the slightest hesitancy or embarrassment in addressing 
that illustrious body of peers! 

Fisher Ames was born in Dedham, Massachusetts, 
April 9th, 1758, and graduated in Yale College when he 
was only twenty years old. He lost his father early in 
life, who was a physician of skill and learning, and a 
gentleman of wit and brilliant conversational powers. 
After graduating, Fisher taught school — like John 
Adams and many other distinguished men — for several 
years. He then read law, and wrote several political 
essays over the signatures of " Brutus " and " Camillus," 
which attracted great public attention, and introduced 
him to the leading men of Boston. He commenced the 
practice of his profession in his native town of Dedham, 
and soon became famous for his forensic displays at the 
bar. He moved to Boston and was elected a member of 
the Massachusetts Legislature. When the State Conven- 
tion was called, in 1787, to consider the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution, he was elected a member of that 
body, and took an active and conspicuous part in advo- 
cating the adoption of the Constitution. 

The convention was composed of three or four 
hundred members, and almost all the leading men of 
Massachusetts were members of it. Fisher Ames was 
then, comparatively, a very young man ; and yet no 
one in the convention argued the questions mooted with 
more ability than he did. His speech in favor of 
biennial elections was clear, lucid and convincing. 
When he had finished, the venerable Samuel Adams, 
who was opposed to that clause in Federal Constitution, 
expressed himself satisfied by the argument of Mr. 
Ames. In the course of his argument he said : 
"Faction and enthusiasm are the instruments by which 
popular governments are destroyed. We need not talk 
of the power of an aristocracy. The people, when they 
lose their liberties, are cheated out of them. They 



522 FISHER AMES. 

nourish factions in their bosoms, which will subsist so 
long as abusing their honest credulity shall be the 
means of acquiring power. A democracy is a volcano 
which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. 
These will produce an eruption, and carry desolation in 
their way. The people always mean right, and if time 
is allowed for reflection and information they will be 
right. I would not have the first wish, the momentary 
impulse of the public mind become law ; for it is not 
always the sense of the people, with whom I admit that 
all power resides. On great questions we must first 
hear the loud clamors of passion, artifice and faction. 
I consider biennial elections as a security, that the sober 
second thought of the people shall be law. There is a 
calm review of public transactions which is made by 
the citizens who have families and children, the pledges 
of their fidelity. To provide for popular liberty, we 
must take care that measures shall not be adopted 
without due deliberation. The member chosen for two 
years will feel some independence in his seat. The 
factions of the day will expire before the end of his 
term." 

The last speech of Mr. Ames in the convention, just 
before the vote of the adoption of the convention was 
taken, is a most able and eloquent one. He expressed 
the belief that the American Republic would one day 
contain fifty millions of people. That day has already 
arrived. 

Mr. Ames was elected a member of the first Congress 
under the Federal Constitution from the city of Boston, 
and continued in Congress eight years successively, 
during the whole of Washington's administration. And 
there was no abler or more devoted supporter of that 
administration than he proved himself to be. He rose 
above the mere politician and partisan in all of his 
speeches, and showed himself a statesman and patriot 
of the highest order, wise and liberal in all his views. 
He opposed the tax on the importation of Africans, 



FISHER AMES. 523 

although he said he detested slavery. His speech on 
the United States Bank is one of surpassing ability. 
He said the clause in the Constitution giving Congress 
power to pass laws to carry the enumerated powers into 
execution gave no new power, but clearly showed that 
implied powers were contemplated in the Constitution. 
They were exercised necessarily every day by Congress, 
and he mentioned a great many of them. The right of 
Congress to govern the Western territory was not 
expressly granted, but implied by the nature of the 
case, or from the power to regulate the property of the 
United States. Under the power to regulate trade 
Congress has taxed ships, erected lighthouses, and made 
laws to govern seamen. 

On passing a law for the naturalization of foreigners, 
Governor Giles, of Virginia, moved that if any of them 
held a title of nobility they should renounce the same 
under oath. This produced great excitement in Con- 
gress when the yeas and nays were called. They who 
were opposed to the motion did not like to record their 
votes for fear it would go out to the American people 
that they were in favor of an order of nobility, and be 
dubbed aristocrats. Mr. Ames spoke against the mo- 
tion, and said it would amount to nothing, that they 
relinquished nothing which they could hold in the 
United States. Mr. William Laughton Smith, of South 
Carolina, pronounced the proposed amendment as wholly 
incompetent to the end it professed to have in view. 
The people might still call a nobleman "my lord" after 
he had renounced his title, and no one could punish 
them for it. Governor Giles's amendment was carried 
by 59 yeas against 32 nays. 

After serving eight years in Congress Mr. Ames 
retired, with a brilliant reputation as a statesman and 
orator, and determined to resume his profession at the 
bar. But in a short time he was forced by ill-health to 
retire to the country, and amuse himself by rural pur- 
suits. He had married, when thirty-four years old, 



524 FISHER AMES. 

Miss Frances Worthington, of Springfield, and his 
domestic life was a most pleasant and happy one. He 
was very much alarmed in his retirement for the condi- 
tion of his country, on account of the French Revolu- 
tion, and wrote several political essays setting forth the 
danger of French influence on our republican institu- 
tions. He was a strong Federalist, and saw the down- 
fall of that party, and imagined that his country was 
destined to fall with it. During this gloomy period of 
his mind he was in the last stages of consumption. 

His life and writings have been published by his son, 
Seth Ames, and his letters show that he was " one of 
the liveliest, wittiest, and most graceful of letter-writers." 
He was elected President of Harvard University, and 
declined the high honor on the ground that his habits 
and education did not fit him for the position. It is- 
very seldom that the appointee of a high and honorable 
office gives such a reason for not accepting it. He wa» 
honored by the college of Princeton with the degree of 
Doctor of Laws. On the death of Washington he was 
selected by the people of Boston to deliver an oration 
on his life and character. " In private life Mr. Ames 
is described by those who knew him best as one of the 
most charming and fascinating companions. His 
appearance was attractive, his manners gentle and 
prepossessing, the play of his wit and imagination 
brilliant and incessant. His private character was 
absolutely without spot or blemish. It might be said 
of him, as Lord Chesterfield wrote of the elder Pitt r 
' his private life was stained by no vice, and sullied by 
no meanness.' In person Mr. Ames was tall and well- 
proportioned, his countenance handsome, and his eyes 
expressive. In debate his manner was animated, and 
he readily became excited." 

Mr. Ames died in 1808, in the fiftieth year of his 
age. What he would have been had he been blessed 
with health and a long life we may well imagine from 
his short and brilliant career. His mother was a 



FISHER AMES. 525 

remarkable woman. She was left a widow in early life, 
with five children, under very straitened circumstances ; 
but she determined, on account of his precocity and love 
of learning, to give her son Fisher a good education. 
This she did, as I have already stated, and she had the 
satisfaction of knowing that her maternal care and 
honesty had not been bestowed in vain. There can be 
no greater pleasure on earth to a fond mother than to 
see her son honored and distinguished for his virtues 
and talents. Nor can there be a more heartfelt satisfac- 
tion to an honored son than to thus gratify his mother. 
When Hugh S. Legare made his great speech in Con- 
gress on the sub-treasury, and received the cordial con- 
gratulations of his friends he said, with tears in his 
eyes, that his highest pleasure would be to know that 
his mother was gratified by his first effort in Congress. 

The family of Fisher Ames was one of the oldest of 
Massachusetts' settlers, and is very numerous at the 
present time in that state. Well may Massachusetts, 
Virginia and South Carolina be proud of the illustrious 
sons they have given the Republic. 



WILLIAM WIRT. 

This great man and distinguished gentleman was 
more eminent as a lawyer, orator and writer, than as a 
statesman. He was, however, a statesman also. He 
served two years in the Virginia Legislature, twelve 
years as Attorney-General of the United States, which 
is a political as well as a legal office, and he was once a 
candidate for the Presidency of the United States, in 
opposition to General Jackson and Henry Clay. 

The life of William Wirt has been written by John 
P. Kennedy, Secretary of Navy under President Fill- 
more, and author of Horseshoe Robinson and several 
other interesting novels. This charming work, in two 
volumes, dedicated to " The young men of the United 
States who seek for guidance to an honorable fame," has 
already gone through several editions, and is a valuable 
accession to the literature of our country. Mr. Kennedy 
is a polished writer, and was himself a scholar, states- 
man, and gentleman. His brief dedication of " these 
memories " to the young men is most appropriate, for 
they could not have a better " guidance to an honorable 
fame " than the pure and brilliant life of William Wirt. 
He rose from a poor, friendless orphan boy, by an hon- 
orable and laborious life, to the highest pinnacle of fame 
as a lawyer, advocate and orator, loved and admired by 
all who knew him. 

William Wirt was born November 8th, 1772, in Bla- 
densburg, Maryland. His father, Jacob Wirt, was a 
Swiss, and his mother was a German, says Kennedy. 
But Wirt says his mother was born in Switzerland. 
Her parents perhaps were Germans. Old Jacob Wirt 
kept a tavern in Bladensburg before and during the 
Revolutionary War. He died in 1774, when William 
526 



WILLIAM WIRT. 527 

was only two years old. In his will he gives his wife, 
Henrietta, " one-half lot of ground in Bladensburg, No. 
5, on which the Billiard-room is built, and on which I 
am now building a new house." The will likewise men- 
tions a brick store and " my tavern in which I now re- 
side." The whole property was worth three or four 
thousand dollars, and he had six children. William was 
the voungest. Peter A. Carnes, a member of the Mary- 
land bar, and a planter of some means, took charge of 
the estate. He had been a frequent visitor, says Mr. 
Kennedy, at Jacob Wirt's tavern, and had formed an 
attachment for the family. 

This lawyer and planter, Peter A. Carnes, of Mary- 
land, is well known in the early history of South Caro- 
lina, after the Revolutionary War. He removed to 
Augusta, Georgia, and was admitted to the Charleston 
bar in 1785. He was a great wit and humorist, and a 
man of decided talents. Chief Justice O'Neill, in his 
Bench and Bar and Annals of Newberry, mentions a 
good many of his witticisms and jokes. He says Carnes 
told Chief Justice Rutledge and other boon companions, 
at Ninety-six, " that he began life as a house-carpenter, 
next tried his hand as a millwright, then as a manufac- 
turer of balloons ! Neither of these prospering, he became 
a Methodist exhorter. Here again, he failed, which 
drove him to the bar." He made a large fortune by his 
last profession, and died in Augusta. William Wirt 
was his proteqe for several years, and was educated by 
him. After Carnes removed to Augusta he wrote for 
Wirt and his sister Elizabeth to come to him and he 
would protect them. The sister went, who was then a 
young woman grown, and he married her. The mother 
of Wirt had been dead several years. 

When William Wirt was forty-two or three years old 
he commenced writing his autobiography for the amuse- 
ment of his children. He brought it down only to his 
tenth year, and his professional labors prevented his 
continuing this history of his life. This is to be regretted, 



528 WILLIAM WIRT. 

as the autobiography of a great man is always more 
interesting than his life by anyone else. He can tell all 
the little incidents of his life and describe his feelings, 
which add so much to the interest of biography and 
which no one else can tell or describe. This was 
remarkably the case with Franklin and Goethe in their 
fragments of autobiography. 

Mr. Kennedy has given extracts from this autobio- 
graphy of Wirt, which are exceedingly interesting; and 
every one will regret, on reading them, that he did not 
give the whole. He tells of his learning to beat the 
drum when he was only three or four years old ; that 
the soldiers gave him money for his performance, and his 
mother scolded him for receiving it. He tells of his love 
of music and dancing at his early age, and his being 
regarded as a sort of genius. He gives an interesting 
account of his going to several schools, and graphic 
descriptions of his teachers and the persons with whom 
he boarded. 

But the most interesting extract from this autobiogra- 
phy is an account of his first love scrape, when he was 
only ten years old. Whilst boarding at Mrs. Laws's, he 
became acquainted with her little niece, Peggy Reader, 
nine years old. He says she was the most beautiful 
creature he ever saw in his life. They both fell desper- 
ately in love with each other, and solemnly engaged 
themselves to get married next Easter. Here the extract 
abruptly ends ; we are not told what became of the little 
girl. Wirt had a very strong attachment for his early 
friends throughout life, and there is no doubt that he 
never forgot this little sweetheart. 

After finishing his classical education with Mr. Hunt 
he was invited by Benjamin Edwards, who was a 
member of the Legislature of Maryland, and had a fine 
library, to become a private tutor in his family. William 
Edwards, afterwards Governor of Ohio, was one of his 
pupils. Benjamin, the old gentleman, moved to Ken- 
tucky, and he and Wirt corresponded for thirty or forty 



WILLIAM WIRT. 529 

years. All of Wirt's letters given in Kennedy's life of 
him breathe a most devoted and filial affection for the 
old gentleman. 

When he was sixteen or seventeen years old he made 
the journey on horseback from Maryland to Georgia to 
see Peter Carnes and his sister Elizabeth, living in 
Augusta. He spent the winter with them, and returned 
to commence his legal studies with Mr. Hunt, the son of 
his old schoolmaster. After his admission to the bar he 
was persuaded to establish himself as a lawyer in Vir- 
ginia. He lived in the family of Dr. Gilmer, an 
accomplished gentleman, and the associate of Jefferson, 
Madison and Monroe. In this way he became early 
acquainted with these great men, and was respected, 
honored and loved by them through life. He says his 
library, on going to Albemarle County to commence his 
profession, consisted of Blackstone's Commentaries and 
Tom Jones. 

Dr. Gilmer had a fine library, and likewise a beautiful 
daughter. Wirt fell in love with both, and married the 
daughter. In the course of three or four years she died 
without children, and he was so broken-hearted that he 
determined to leave Albemarle and establish himself in 
Richmond. He was there elected Clerk of the House of 
Representatives. His habits became bad, but not so 
bad, says his biographer, as they have been represented 
to be. Like most widowers and widows, who try to 
mend their broken hearts as soon as possible, Wirt 
became engaged to Miss Camble, the daughter of a pros- 
perous merchant in Richmond. The father was fearful 
of Wirt's habits, and kept him for some time on proba- 
tion before marrying his daughter. During this time he 
went one morning to Wirt's office, and found him and 
two or three boon companions in a glorious debauch. 
They had sat up the whole night, and Wirt was standing 
in the middle of the room in a loose gown, with a pewter 
basin on his head for a hemlet, and a poker in his hand, 
making a speech and representing Falstaff. 



530 WILLIAM WIRT. 

In a short time, however, after this drunken frolic, 
Wirt was unanimously elected Chancellor of the State of 
Virginia by the Legislature. This indorsement and honor 
induced Mr. Gamble to consent to the marriage of his 
daughter ; and never was there a more happy marriage. 
They were devoted to each other, and prospered through 
a long life. She was ten or twelve years younger than 
her husband, and justly felt proud of him. He loved 
her most tenderly, and did everything possible to make 
her happy. They had twelve children, and raised seven 
or eight of them. 

When elected chancellor, Mr. Wirt had to live in 
Williamsburg. He soon found that the salary of a 
chancellor was barely sufficient to support his family, 
and there was no prospect of laying up anything for old 
age or his wife and children in case of his death. He 
determined to resign his office and move to Kentucky; 
but waking up one night he found his wife weeping 
bitterly. She confessed that she was weeping at the 
thought of leaving Virginia and settling in such a wil- 
derness as Kentucky then was. This was enough for 
Wirt. He determined to resign his office and move to 
Norfolk, and he there formed a partnership with Mr. 
Tazewell. 

His practice at Norfolk and Williamsburg was very 
good ; but he and his wife both wished to return to 
Richmond. They did so about the time Aaron Burr 
was to be tried there for high treason. President Jeffer- 
son employed Wirt to assist in the prosecution. His 
speeches and arguments in this trial gave him a national 
reputation. His glowing and beautiful description of 
Blennerhassett's Island-wife and life, before the intru- 
sion of Burr, has been memorized and spoken by 
hundreds of schoolboys all over the United States. 

About this time Mr. Wirt wrote his British Spy, 
which ran through several editions, and gave him great 
reputation as a writer. In it he described certain char- 
acters which were recognized in Richmond, and caused 



WILLIAM WIRT. 531 

him some enemies. He also wrote the Old Bachelor, 
which was not so popular as the British Spy. He like- 
wise wrote a series of papers over the signature of "One 
of the People," in vindication of President Madison, and 
in reply to an address of John Randolph and other 
members of Congress assailing Mr. Madison, and urging 
the election of Mr. Monroe in bis stead. With Monroe, 
Wirt was more intimate than with Madison ; but inas- 
much as Madison had received the nomination he 
thought it the duty of every Democrat to support him. 

The life of Patrick Henry was also commenced in 
1807, but not finished for ten or fifteen years afterwards. 
He says he found great difficulty in collecting the 
material for this life. He had never seen Henry, and 
of course had to depend on the information of others, as 
to his eloquence, ability, learning and character. The 
information he received from various sources was quite 
contradictory, and he had to sift the truth from these 
different statements. The life, when completed, was 
very much lauded by the press, and established the 
fame of Wirt as an author. 

He received from Mr. Madison the appointment of 
District Attorney for Virginia, without any solicitation 
on his part. In fact he had applied for the office for 
Mr. Upshur. After the election of Mr. Monroe he was 
appointed Attorney-General of the United States, and 
continued to fill that high office with distinguished 
ability for twelve years under the administrations of 
Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams. The acceptance of this 
office required his removal to Washington, and a sepa- 
ration in some measure from his old and dear friends in 
Virginia. His practice in his profession was greatly 
increased, and he was brought into competition at the 
bar with William Pinkney, Robert Goodloe Harper, 
Chief Justice Taney and Daniel Webster. 

William Pinkney stood at the head of his profession 
in the United States, and Mr. Wirt was anxious to 
measure strength with him. When he did so he wrote 



532 WILLIAM WIRT. 

his wife rather a vain letter as to his success. It seems 
from his private correspondence that he was jealous of 
Pinkney's reputation as a lawyer. There was a difficulty 
between them which came very near becoming serious ; 
but fortunately it was adjusted and Pinkney soon after- 
wards died. Mr. Wirt removed to Baltimore after the 
expiration of Mr. Adams's administration, and fell heir 
to most of Mr. Pinkney's business. His practice now 
was immense, and very remunerative. The ardent wish 
of his heart, to acquire a competency for his wife and 
children in case of his death, had never been gratified. 
He made a large purchase of lands in Florida, and sent 
two of his sons-in-law with their families to take charge 
of it. He likewise sent there one hundred and fifty 
Germans to form a colony, and provided them with 
everything. They all abandoned their contract in a 
very short time, and left his hands. 

On one occasion Mr. Wirt was sent for to argue a 
great case in Boston. Mr. Webster was employed on 
the other side. Wirt says, in his letters, that the court 
room was crowded with ladies, and that he made a grand 
argument. He says the people of Boston overwhelmed 
him with their hospitality and kindness. He says they 
surpassed the Virginians. Having received so many 
invitations to dine, and so many calls of friends to be 
returned, he inquired of his client what he should do. 
" Tell them," said he, " that you are private property, 
and belong to me till this case is finished." " I will 
do it," said Wirt. But after the case is over he did 
accept a great many invitations, and amongst them one 
from a very handsome, talented lady, whom he had 
noticed in court. When he was taking leave of her in 
the evening he said, " Permit me to part with you, as 
we do in Virginia, by shaking hands." She promptly 
extended her hand, and Mr. Wirt bid her farewell. But 
before he got to the door she called to him and said, 
" I had my glove on, Mr. Wirt, when I shook hands 
with you. I have now pulled it off, and let us shake 



WILLIAM WIKT. 533 

hands again." This time he raised the hand to his lips 
and kissed it. The gentleman who was with Wirt then 
said, " Let me, too, take Virginia leave of yon." She 
extended to him the other hand, gloved, and said, " I 
cannot give you my right hand." She did not wish the 
kiss impressed on it by Wirt to be effaced. 

The nomination of Wirt for the Presidency was an 
unfortunate movement for him. He did not desire it, 
and ought to have refused the nomination. It was 
made by the Anti-masons, in opposition to Jackson and 
Clay, and he received only seven electoral votes. From 
that time he seemed oppressed, and began to decline in 
health and spirits, till his death. He died February 
18th, 1834. 

Mr. Kennedy's Life of Wirt is made up in a great 
measure with his letters to Judge Carnes, Governor 
Cohill, Benjamin Edwards, Mr. Pope, Mr. Gilmer, his 
wife, daughters, etc. The following description of him 
is given by his biographer: " In the prime of life Mr. 
Wirt was marked for his personal beauty, with a tall 
figure, ample chest, and erect carriage ; there was no 
great appearance of muscular strength but a conspicuous 
ease and grace of motion. His head was large and in 
good proportion to his frame; the features of his face 
strongly defined^ a large nose, thin and accurately 
formed lips ; a chin whose breadth gave to his counten- 
ance an approximation to the square, rather than the 
oval outline ; clear, dark-blue eyes looking out beneath 
brows of evident compass, and the whole surmounted 
by an expanded and majestic forehead, imparted dignity 
and intellectual prominence to a physiognomv which 
the sculptor delighted to study. A curled, crisp and 
vigorous growth of hair, — in his latter days almost 
white, — clustered upon his front, and gave an agreeable 
effect to the outline of his head and face. 

" In his manners, Mr. Wirt was gentle, courteous and 
winning. His voice was clear and sweet, and variously 
modulated by an ear of the finest musical perception. 



534 WILLIAM WIRT. 

His laugh, never boisterous, was sly, short and full of 
gayety of his temper. Few men ever had a keener 
insight of the ludicrous. His conversation was exceed- 
ingly attractive. His playfulness was contagious. The 
simplicity and sincerity of his manners attracted to him 
the friendship of every class. He delighted in old 
remembrances of pleasant persons and things. A remark 
tainted with bad feeling never fell from his lips. He 
had a great fondness for music. 

" Mr. Wirt was a highly cultivated and well-read Latin 
scholar. He knew nothing of Greek and often deplored 
his neglect of it. To attain to the highest eminence in 
his profession was the great aim of his ambition. In 
earlier life he was remarked for a florid imagination and 
a power of vivid declamation. His manner of speaking 
was singularly attractive. His manly form, his intellect- 
ual countenance and musical voice, set off by a rare 
gracefulness of gesture, won in advance the favor of his 
auditory. His eloquence was smooth, polished, scholar- 
like, sparkling with pleasant fancies, and beguiling the 
listener by its varied graces out of all note or conscious- 
ness of time." 

Such was the character of William Wirt, as drawn by 
his accomplished biographer's pen. Very few public 
men were ever more pleasant, charming and lovable. 
As a friend, husband and parent, he had no superior; 
and in the latter part of his life a true and devoted 
Christian. 



HENRY LEE. 

Colonel Henry Lee, of Lee's Legion, is well known in 
American history as one of the most accomplished, dar- 
ing and dashing cavalry officers of the Revolutionary 
army. His Memoirs of the War in the Southern De- 
partment of the United States, a work equal in interest 
and scholarship to Csesar's Commentaries, has made his 
name familiar to the reading public of this country. 
His oration on the life and character of Washington, 
delivered in Philadelphia, by request of Congress, in 
1799, was unsurpassed for eloquence and beauty of dic- 
tion. One sentence in that oration, in which he speaks 
of Washington as " first in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen," is immortal. Colonel 
Lee was also an eminent statesman and devoted patriot. 

The father of Colonel Henry Lee was the cousin of 
Richard Henry Lee and his three distinguished brothers 
— Francis Lightfoot Lee, William Lee and Arthur Lee. 

A writer in the New Encyclopedia says that the 
mother of Colonel Henry Lee was a Miss Bland. This 
is a mistake. His grandmother was a Bland, but his 
mother was Lucy Grymes, the early flame of Washing- 
ton, and his " Lowland Beauty," to whom he addressed 
his " homespun poetry." In a former sketch of George 
Washington I have stated how much he was in love 
with this " Lowland Beauty," and how deeply he was 
distressed by her rejection of his love. I also men- 
tioned that the remembrance of his woe for the mother 
was the cause of his great partiality for her young and 
accomplished son when he met him in the army. Wash- 
ington's regard for Colonel Henry Lee was reciprocated 
on his part by the most devoted affection and admira- 
tion through life. And the memory of Washington 

535 



536 HENRY LEE. 

was almost idolized by Lee after his death. He spoke 
of him as superior to all other men in his intuitive vir- 
tue, patriotism and honor. 

The father of Colonel Henry Lee must have been a 
very superior and accomplished gentleman to have sup- 
planted General Washington in the affections of such a 
lady as Lucy Grymes. Mr. Grigsby, in his discourse 
on the Virginia Convention of 1776, says Colonel 
Henry Lee's father " was an old member of the House 
of Burgesses, a member of all the Conventions, a mem- 
ber of the Declaration Committee, and a member of the 
General Assembly. His standing was of the first, before 
and after the Revolution." Miss Lucy Grymes was a 
young lady possessed of superior mental endowments as 
well as personal beauty. Her grandson, General Robert 
E. Lee, of the Confederate Army, tells us, in his memoir 
of his father, that she was the favorite niece of her 
learned and distinguished uncle, Bishop Porteus, of 
London, and that she kept up a correspondence with 
him for many years. This correspondence, now lost, 
the General says was "interesting and beautiful." Col- 
onel Henry Lee was- born at Leesylvania, the residence 
of his father, on the Potomac river, January 29th, 1756. 
His education was conducted by a private tutor till he 
was thirteen years old, when he entered Princeton Col- 
lege, then under the Presidency of Dr. Witherspoon. 

It is said that he distinguished himself " by a close 
and steady application to his studies." Dr. William 
Shippen wrote Richard Henry Lee, in Philadelphia : 
" Your cousin Henry Lee is in college, and will be one 
of the first fellows in this country. He is more than 
strict in his morality, has a fair genius, and is diligent. 
Charles, his brother, is in the grammar school, but Dr. 
Witherspoon expects much from his genius and applica- 
tion." This brother Charles was afterwards appointed, 
by President Washington, Attorney-General of the 
United States. When Henry graduated, he delivered 
an English oration on the " Liberal Arts," and received 
the honors of the college. 



HENRY LEE. 537 

After graduating he returned home, and took charge 
of his father's affairs whilst he was absent negotiating 
treaties with the Indian tribes. He was then about to 
set out for England, to pursue the study of law, under 
the direction of his mother's uncle, Bishop Porteus. But 
the difficulties which sprung up between the mother 
country and the colonies made him abandon this idea, 
and at the age of nineteen he received from Governor 
Patrick Henry a captain's commission in the cavalry 
service. He immediately joined General Washington's 
army, and his company was selected by the General as 
his body-guard at the battle of Germantown. Captain 
Lee was distinguished for the discipline of his corps, 
and the care which he took of his men and horses. He 
was rapid and daring in all his movements. His cap- 
ture of Paul us Hook, in view of the British army, with 
one hundred and fifty prisoners, was a signal achieve- 
ment, and he was promoted to a majority in consequence 
of it. He was in a stone building once, with only ten 
men, and was attacked by two hundred of the enemy. 
He repulsed them after killing many of their number. 
He suggested the attack of General Wayne on Stony 
Point. He was in the battles of Brandywine and 
Monmouth. 

When General Charles Lee, second in command to 
Washington, was preparing the organization of a legion 
he said : " Major Lee seems to have come out of his 
mother's womb a soldier." After the formation of this 
legion, he was ordered to join General Greene. Con- 
gress voted him a gold medal for his brilliant achieve- 
ment at Paulus Hook. His military career at the South 
was most important, rapid and dashing; and always 
successful. At the battle of Guilford Courthouse Col- 
onel Lee greatly distinguished himself, and rendered 
important services to General Greene. After the battle 
he suggested to General Greene the daring and hazard- 
ous movement of falling back into South Carolina and 
reconquering the State, whilst Cornwallis was permitted 



538 HENRY LEE. 

to march on to Virginia unmolested. Lee and Marion 
were sent by General Greene to fall upon the lesser posts 
of the enemy in South Carolina. They captured Forts 
Watson, Motte and Granby. Lee then reunited his 
force with General Pickens, and captured Augusta. 
On his way he surprised and captured Fort Galpin. 
Lee was as generous as he was brave. Colonel Brown, 
who commanded the British forces at Augusta, had been 
guilty of great cruelty towards the Whigs, and they 
would have taken his life after his surrender but for 
Lee, who sent him off secretly. He then went with his 
prisoners to join General Greene, at the siege of Ninety- 
Six. When the assault was made on the Fort, Lee was 
successful, but the other division was not, and the 
approach of Lord Rawdon compelled General Greene 
to abandon the siege. It is said that Lee's impetuous 
charge at Eutaw saved the army from defeat. He was 
then sent with despatches to Washington, and arrived at 
Yorktown about the time of Lord Cornwallis's 
surrender. 

The war was now in a measure ov er, and Lee resigned 
his commission and returned home. He thought Gen- 
eral Greene had not noticed him as he ought to have 
done in his dispatches. The General wrote him a most 
complimentary and affectionate letter. He said : " Every- 
body knows that I have the highest opinion of you as 
an officer, and you know I love you as a friend. No 
man in the progress of the campaign had equal merit 
with yourself. Few officers in Europe or America are 
held in so high a point of view as you are." Greene 
tells him in one of his letters that he is going home to 
get married, and intimates that this was the cause of his 
resignation. It would seem that he was then engaged 
to his fair cousin, Matilda Lee, daughter of Colonel 
Philip Ludwell Lee. He went directly from the army 
to her father's house. General Robert E. Lee, his son, 
gives an interesting account of this visit in his memoir 
of his father. Miss Matilda and her sister Flora espied 



HENRY LEE. 539 

him at a distance, as he approached the house on horse- 
back with his military servant. She was, no doubt, 
looking out for him, and lovers may well imagine the 
joy of their meeting. 

After his marriage he settled down at Stratford, the 
old family mansion of his father, and was appointed by 
the Virginia Legislature a member of the Continental 
Congress. When the State Convention was called to 
ratify the Federal Constitution, Colonel Lee was elected 
a member of that body, and with President Madison 
and Chief Justice Marshall was one of its most eloquent 
advocates. His speeches may be seen in Elliott's De- 
bates of the State Convention. 

When the " Whiskey Rebellion " broke out in Penn- 
sylvania in 1797, Colonel Lee had been elected Gover- 
nor of Virginia, and President Washington appointed 
him to command the forces which were raised in Vir- 
ginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to sup- 
press this rebellion. Colonel Alexander Hamilton, the 
intimate friend of Lee, and who was then Secretary of 
the Treasury, accompanied the army as Lee's aide-de- 
camp. Fortunately the forces raised were so large that 
the rebels made no resistance, and no blood was shed. 
The ringleaders were tried after their surrender, con- 
victed of treason, and pardoned by the President. In 
1799 Colonel Lee was elected a member of the United 
States Congress, and was appointed, as I have already 
stated, to deliver an oration on the death of Washing- 
ton. After the election of Jefferson he retired from 
Congress, and lived like a prince on his estate at Strat- 
ford. His hospitality was unbounded, and he became 
very much embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs. It is 
said that at one time he was imprisoned on account of 
his debts. During this interval from public life, he 
wrote his Memoirs of the Southern War, a work which 
gives a glowing account of all his brother officers and 
their heroic achievements ; and modestly tells his own 
active services in that war. There is no work written 
about our Revolutionary war of greater interest. 



540 HENRY LEE. 

After the unfortunate termination of the first cam- 
paign on the Canada frontiers, in the war of 1812, Col- 
onel Lee was appointed by President Madison a Major- 
General, to take command of the Northern army. In 
passing through Baltimore he stopped to see a friend 
who was editing the Federal Republican newspaper. 
Whilst he was in the office a mob assembled to tear it 
down. General Lee was not a man to desert a friend in 
danger, and he assisted in the defence of the house. 
Two or three of the rioters were killed, which increased 
their violence, and the city military were called out. 
Lee and his friend were placed in jail for safety. The 
mob renewed their attack, tore down or brcfke open the 
prison, and shockingly killed or wounded all the 
inmates. General Lee was most seriously injured, had 
to abandon his command, and went to the West Indies 
to recover his health. He found no relief there, and 
started to return home. He landed on Cumberland 
Island, near Savannah, and was carried to the house of 
Mrs. Shaw, the daughter of his old and venerated com- 
mander, General Greene, and there died. 

This was the sad fate of one of the most gallant and 
accomplished officers of the Revolutionary army; a gen- 
tleman of the highest honor, talents and patriotism. 
After the death of his first wife General Lee married 
Miss Ann Hill Carter, an accomplished daughter of one 
of the wealthiest and most charitable of all noble Vir- 
ginians. He wrote his factor in England to give a cer- 
tain amount of the sales of his tobacco to the poor of 
London, and gave as a reason for this charity that 
" there were not indigent persons enough in Virginia to 
enable him to fulfil the great Christian duty of charity." 
In a notice of his death, the following extract is given 
by his grandson, General Robert E. Lee : " Died on 
Saturday, June 28th, 1806, Charles Carter, Esq., of 
Shirley, aged 70. His long life was spent in the tran- 
quillity of domestic enjoyments. From the mansion of 
hospitality his immense wealth flowed like the silent 



HENRY LEE. 541 

stream, enlivening and refreshing every object around." 
After the death of his first wife, in 1790, General Lee 
thought of going to France, to engage in her Revolu- 
tion, but was dissuaded by his cousin, William Lee, who 
called the Parisians " savage cannibals." General Wash- 
ington, also, advised against his going. But, no doubt, 
the most potent influence exercised over him was that of 
Miss Carter. When her father understood that he had 
abandoned this chivalrous project he wrote to General 
Lee that he now gave his free consent for him to marry 
his daughter. He said, " As we certainly know that you 
liave obtained her consent, you shall have that of her 
parents, most cordially, and we think the sooner it takes 
place the better." This was talking like a frank old 
Virginian. 

By his first marriage General Lee had only two chil- 
dren, who survived their mother, a son and a daughter. 
The son, Henry, was a man of talents, but his character 
was very bad, according to the statement in Randall's 
Life of Jefferson, which I have alluded to in a sketch of 
Richard Henry Lee. He had several children by his 
second wife. The first one, named Algernon Sydney, 
after the great martyr of liberty, who was a connection 
of the Lees, died young. Charles Carter Lee and Rob- 
ert E. Lee, with one sister, are mentioned in General 
Lee's letters from the West Indies. These letters, to 
his son Carter whilst in Harvard College, near Boston, 
have been preserved, and are published in a third edi- 
tion of his " Memoirs of the War." His son General 
Robert E. Lee justly styles them " letters of wisdom and 
love." They should be read by every one, and especially 
by young men. They are noble letters, inculcating 
noble principles. 

In the first he says : " My dear Carter, I have just 
heard, by a letter from Henry, that you are fixed at the 
University of Cambridge, the seminary of my choice ; 
you will there have not only excellent examples to 
■encourage your love and practice of virtue, the only real 



542 HENRY LEE. 

good in life, but ample scope to pursue learning to its 
bottom, thereby fitting yourself to be useful to your 
country, and to be an ornament to your friends. 

" You know, my dear son, the deep and affectionate 
interest I have taken in you from the first moment of 
your existence, and your kind and amiable disposition 
will never cease enjoying and amplifying your father's 
happiness to the best of your ability. You will do this 
by preferring the practice of virtue to all other things. 
You know my abhorrence of lying, and you have been 
often told by me that it led to every vice and cancelled 
every tendency to virtue. Never forget this truth, and 
disdain the mean and infamous practice." 

These extracts are noble sentences, inculcating noble 
truths, and cannot be too well considered by boys and 
young men and old ones too. There was a maxim 
amongst some of the Eastern nations that a boy should 
be early taught three things — to ride, to tell the truth, and 
to cast the dart. In modern times, and in this Western 
world, the three most essential lessons are, to tell the truth, 
to work and study. If he will only practice these three 
virtues, his success in life is guaranteed. The boy who 
will not study, learn and improve his mind, is sure to 
be imposed on by the world. The boy who will not 
work is likely to become a worthless vagabond. The 
boy who will not tell the truth stands a fair chance for 
the gallows or penitentiary. It has been said that a man 
may lie who will not steal, but Shakespeare, the great 
master of human nature, thought differently. 

Again, he says to his son, in another letter : " I repeat 
my love and prayers for your health and advancement 
in the acquisition of knowledge from its foundation, not 
on the surface. This last turns man into a puppy, and 
the first fits him for the highest utility and most lasting 
pleasure." 

If this be correct as to surface knowledge, there are a 
great many " puppies " in the world. He says : " Never 
mind your style, but write your first impressions quickly, 



HENRY LEE. 543 

clearly and honestly. Style will come in clue time, as 
will the maturity of judgment." He entreats his son 
" to arrest any tendency to imitate the low. degrading 
usage, too common, of swearing in conversation, espe- 
cially with your inferiors." 

In another letter he says : " I would rather see you 
unlearned and unnoticed, if virtuous in practice as well 
as theory, than to see you equal in glory to the great 
Washington. But virtue and wisdom are not opponents; 
they are friends, and coalesce in a few characters such as 
his." " A foolish notion often springs up with young 
men as they enter life, namely, that the opinion of the 
world is not to be regarded ; whereas it is the true cri- 
terion, generally speaking, of all things that terminate 
in human life." 

The following sentence I have frequently thought of 
and conned over in solitude : " To bring the reasoning 
home to you, your dearest mother is singularly pious, 
from love to Almighty God and love of virtue, which 
are synonymous : not from fear of hell — a low, base 
influence." And the question arises, Can " the fear of 
hell" carry a man to heaven? 

In speaking of his little son, who afterwards became 
the great Confederate General and the model hero, pat- 
riot and Christian gentleman, he says : " Robert was 
always good, and will be confirmed in his happy turn of 
mind by his ever watchful and affectionate mother. 
Does he strengthen his native tendency ? " 

His letters to his son show that he was a finished 
classical scholar, and had read with deep interest all the 
classical writers of Greece and Rome, and England and 
France. He tells his son that his preference of Milton 
to Homer was sacrilegious. He preferred Pope to Mil- 
ton. The one dealt with men, and the other with devils 
and angrels. He thought Hannibal a greater general 
than either Alexander or Csesar. Of all the modern 
European heroes, he tonight Frederick the greatest. 
The manner in which he spoke of Washington showed 



544 HENRY LEE. 

that he considered him above all other men. The fol- 
lowing expression in one of his letters to his son sur- 
prised me very much : " I never could read a novel, 
because it was a narrative of imaginary action ; and yet 
I have seen many grave men and pious ladies harden 
their cheeks and exclaim, " How natural, how affect- 
ing ! " If Colonel Lee had lived after Sir Walter Scott, 
and Bulwer and Thackeray had written, I think he 
would have changed his mind. 

" What breast is so callous to noble feelings," says 
Colonel Lee, " as not to pant to become the rivals of 
Alexander and Scipio in their self-command; evinced 
on the most trying occasions, when even beauty the most 
captivating, and in their power by the right of conquest, 
was sheltered from the rude touch of passion, which 
threw around their names the splendor of virtue, which 
overshadowed all their glory ? In one road only is the 
youth to walk whose mind is thus ennobled. He must 
begin with himself when young, and can only become a 
true disciple of future glory by watching his tongue and 
purse ! 

"Let not the first utter a word injurious to truth, 
decency, or to another's peace, and never suffer want or 
temptation to induce the wanton disbursement of the 
last." 

The following description of happiness in " these let- 
ters of love and wisdom " is too beautiful to be omitted : 
" But, my dear Carter, what is happiness? Hoc opus, 
hie labor est. Peace of mind, based on piety to Almighty 
God ; unconscious innocence of conduct with good will 
to men ; health of body, health of mind, and prosperity 
in our vocation; a sweet, affectionate wife, and sana mens 
in corpore sano; children devoted to truth, honor, right 
and utility ; with love and respect to their parents ; and 
faithful, warm-hearted friends in a country politically 
and religiously free. This is my definition of happi- 
ness." ^ 



HENEY LEE. 545 

Can a better be given by philosophy or religion ? 
And with this I will conclude my sketch of Colonel 
Harry Lee, of Lee's Legion, the accomplished gentle- 
man, the devoted patriot, the heroic, brilliant com- 
mander, the wise statesman, the eloquent orator, and the 
learned scholar, and father of General Robert E. Lee, 
of the Confederate army. 



FELIX GRUNDY. 

Mr. Grundy was eminent as a lawer and statesman 
for more than forty years. As a successful advocate in 
criminal cases he was never surpassed, and perhaps never 
equalled. It is said in a sketch of his life in the 
National Portrait Gallery, that after his removal to 
Nashville, Tenn., he was engaged in the defence of one 
hundred and five capital cases, and never had but one 
criminal executed. It is doubtful whether any other 
lawyer in America or England can boast of equal suc- 
cess in his criminal practice. When the professional 
services of Mr. Grundy were secured in the defence of a 
capital felony it is said the criminal considered himself 
safe. He was sent for all over Tennessee, Kentucky, 
Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi and Illinois, to appear 
in important capital felonies. 

Felix Grundy was born in Virginia, September 11th, 
1777. His father was an Englishman, who came to 
America early in life. When Felix was two years old 
he moved from Virginia into Pennsylvania, remained 
there one year, and then moved to Kentucky, where he 
died in the early infancy of his son Felix, leaving a 
widow and large family of children exposed to all the 
dangers and deprivations of a frontier life. He wit- 
nessed the death of several of his brothers, and the 
destruction of his widowed mother's home and property 
by the Indians. Whilst a member of the United States 
Senate, in speaking (if the sufferings and terrors of the 
early settlers of the Western States, he said : " Mr. Pres- 
ident, I was too young to participate in these dangers 
and difficulties, but I can remember when death was in 
almost every bush, and every thicket concealed an 
ambuscade." 
546 



FELIX GRUNDY. 547 

Felix was the seventh son of his father and mother, 
and at that time there was a superstition amongst the 
ignorant and uneducated that the seventh son was born 
to be a doctor, and in obedience to this superstition his 
mother intended to educate him for the practice of med- 
icine. There was an academy at Bardstown of high 
reputation, under the direction of Dr. Priestly, after- 
wards President of the Nashville University. To this 
school his widowed mother sent him although she was 
hardly able to bear the expense* ; but her love for her 
youngest and favorite son, and his fondness for reading 
and study, determined her to make any sacrifice in order 
to give him a good education. At this academy he dis- 
played wonderful talents and aptness for learning. He 
and his classmate, Judge Bascom, commenced in the 
lowest class in school and soon passed ahead of all the 
classes in the academy. Some of the students had been 
there a year or two. Their application was so intense 
that their teacher became alarmed for the health of his 
two favorite and most promising pupils and advised 
them to relax in their studies and take more exercise. 

Whilst at this Academy young Felix displayed such 
extraordinary talent for public speaking, and was so 
passionately fond of it, that he no longer thought of his 
mother's wish that her seventh son should be a doctor. 
He determined to become a lawyer and cultivate his 
talent for public speaking. Consequently he commenced 
the study of law under the direction of Colonel George 
Nicholas, a man of great eminence, and at that time 
standing at the head of the Kentucky bar. He was for- 
tunate in gaining the good opinion of this distinguished 
gentleman, who remained attached to him as long as he 
lived. Mr. Grundy never forgot, and often repeated in 
after life the good advice of this excellent gentleman 
and patriotic statesman. When Grundy first entered 
public life, at a very early age, Nicholas sent for him 
andsaid: " You have now commenced, Mr. Grundy, poli- 
tical life, be honest in all your purposes, and never 



548 FELIX GRUNDY. 

deceive the people, and your success is certain." This 
advice was worth remembering and repeating through a 
long life, and what a blessing it would be to the people 
if all our public men could adopt it and practice it. 
There is no doubt that honesty is the best policy in the 
long run. But a statesman should not be honest in his 
purposes and never deceive the people through policy 
alone, but because it is right and proper for him to be 
so, whether politic or not. He should be honest in all 
his purposes and never deceive, although he may know 
it will make him unsuccessful. 

When only twenty-two years old Mr. Grundy was 
elected a member of the State Convention of Kentucky, 
called for the purpose of revising the State Constitution. 
In this body, composed of the wisest and best men of 
Kentucky, he distinguished himself as an able debater 
and wise legislator. At that time, in Kentucky, the 
court sat at a single place to hear cases from four or five 
counties, which was the case in South Carolina till 
long after the Revolutionary war. Mr. Grundy thought 
this a great grievance to the people having business in 
court, and proposed that the constitution should require 
a court to be held in each county. Strange to say, all 
the old lawyers and politicians of Kentucky were 
opposed to the proposed alteration. The discussion was 
continued for several days, and although Mr. Grundy 
was unsuccessful, he acquired great reputation for his 
powers in debate. Afterwards he succeeded in the leg- 
islature in giving to each county a separate court. 

Mr. Grundy was a member of the Kentucky legisla- 
ture for seven or eight years, and then, whilst a very 
young man, he was elected Chief Justice of the State. 
He continued in this high and dignified office only two 
or three years, when he resigned and removed to Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. The salary of the Chief Justice was 
not sufficient to support him and his growing family. 
His wife bore him eleven children, " I was/' says his 
biographer, " the solace of all his cares and the happy 



FELIX GRUNDY. 549 

partner of his fortune." His professional income at 
Nashville was very large, and he was soon at the head 
of the bar, though it was composed of very able 
lawyers. 

Whilst in the Kentucky Legislature he and Henry 
Clay had a famous debate for six days on the Book 
question, and finally Grundy was successful in repealing 
the charter of an insurance company, which was fraud- 
ulently exercising banking powers. 

In 1811 he was elected to Congress from the State of 
Tennessee, having been a citizen of the State only three 
years. He was elected as a war candidate, and took his 
seat in the House of Representatives at the same time 
that Clay, Calhoun, Cheves and Loundes took their seats 
in that body for the first time. What an accession did 
these five illustrious members make to the House of 
Representatives! They formed a "war mess" whilst 
they were in Congress and lived together. They were 
in fact the authors of the war and but for their influence 
and talents war would not have been declared against 
Great Britain. The President, Mr. Madison, was 
opposed to declaring war at that time, but was over- 
ruled by these gentlemen. The New England States 
were utterly opposed to the war, and it was carried by 
the votes of the South and the West. It is said that 
Mr. Grundy was a man of peace, but he preferred the 
national honor and rights of his country to peace. He 
served four years in Congress and then voluntarily 
retired to private life and his profession. 

Whilst in Congress, Mr. Grundy was one of the most 
active and business men in the House, as well as one, of 
the ablest and most eloquent of its members. He was 
in favor of encouraging domestic manufactures, voted 
for the embargo, the increase of the army, and was zeal- 
ous in advocating all measures necessary in sustaining 
the administration in prosecuting the war. On one occa- 
sion he was very happy and severe in his reply to Mr. 
Webster. He enquired who benefited the enemy the 



550 FELIX GRUNDY. 

most, the traitor who went over and joined that enemy, 
openly and boldly, or the man who, by his influence 
and conversations, prevented men from enlisting under 
their country's flag and fighting that enemy ? The one 
committed treason and the other was worse than this 
open and defiant traitor, for he injured his country ten 
times as much as the traitor without incurring the pen- 
alties of treason on the subject of the " Blue Lights " 
held out to the enemy, he was rejoiced to see the sensi- 
bility manifested by the Connecticut members on this 
subject, but he still believed there was truth in the 
rumor ! 

On the Loan Bill Mr. Grundy made one of his 
happiest and most eloquent speeches. He had been 
assailed by the Federal members for saying that they 
committed moral treason in persuading capitalists not to 
lend their money to the government. He cut and thrust 
them on every side, and re-asserted the truth of his asser- 
tion. No one can read Mr. Grundy's speeches in Con- 
gress during the war without forming a very high esti- 
mate of his powers as a debater, and his patriotism as a 
statesman. He had no superior in a cut and thrust 
debate, and no one ever attempted to measure arms with 
him without being worsted. It seems that he was 
always ready and prepared, like a true knight, for any 
attack. 

In 1819 Mr. Grundy's friends prevailed on him to 
accept a seat in the Tennessee Legislature, and he 
continued to serve that body six years, and whilst 
there adjusted the disputed boundary between Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee. When he first went into 
the Legislature, the distress of the country was such 
that the members were disposed to pass some relief 
law. This Mr. Grundy opposed as unconstitutional and 
unjust between debtor and creditor. But he introduced 
a bill to create a State Bank to lend money to the people. 
This relieved their wants and rendered all stay laws and 
relief laws unnecessary. 



FELIX GRUNDY. 551 

In 1829 he was elected to the United States Senate, 
and made a speech on Foote's resolution, when the great 
debate took place between Hayne and Webster. In this 
speech he took the ground that the States were sovereigns 
and had a right by a State convention to nullify an 
unconstitutional act of Congress. This act of nullifica- 
tion stayed the enforcement of the unconstitutional act 
till a Federal convention of all the States would be con- 
vened, and then this Federal convention decided on the 
constitutionality of the act nullified. If two-thirds of 
the States pronounced it constitutional it must be enfor- 
ced, otherwise it should not be. 

How statesmen and transcendent abilities and patriot- 
ism unquestioned — such men as Calhoun, Hayne, 
Grundy and Jefferson — should honestly entertain a 
political heresy so absurd, is " to the uninitiated," as Mr. 
Pettigru said, " inconceivable." There is nothing in 
the Federal Constitution authorizing the doctrine of 
nullification or secession in the remotest degree, and 
such a government would, in fact, be a rope of sand, 
liable to be destroyed by any one of the thirty-eight 
States which objected to the act of Congress. The right 
of revolution is the only right which free people can 
have to resist tyranny and intolerable oppression. 

In 1832 Mr. Grundy made a very able speech in the 
Senate against the tariff and protection of domestic 
manufactures. It is one of the cleverest and most logi- 
cal speeches ever made on that subject, showing the 
injustice of protecting one class of persons at the expense 
of other classes. Whilst declaiming against the injustice 
of the tariff, he admitted the constitutional authority of 
Congress to impose those duties. 

On the subject of the Pension Bill of 1832 Mr. 
Grundy made a speech, urging that those soldiers who 
fought the Indians, during and after the Revolution, 
should be included ; as being equally meritorious with 
those who fought the British army. 



552 FELIX GRUNDY. 

In 1833 when the nullification of South Carolina and 
President Jackson's proclamation were under discussion 
in the Senate, Mr. Calhoun submitted resolutions as to 
the right of a State to nullify an unconstitutional act 
of Congress. Mr. Grundy submitted other resolutions 
as a substitute for Mr. Calhoun's, declaring the constitu- 
tional right of Congress to levy and collect duties or 
imports, and that no State had any right to resist the 
collection of such duties. In 1832 he admitted the right 
of a State to nullify an unconstitutional act of Congress ; 
but he contended that the tariff, however unjust and 
oppressive, was still constitutional ; and therefore South 
Carolina could not nullify it or prevent the collection of 
duties. 

On the subject of receiving abolition of petition for 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, Mr. 
Grundy advocated and voted for receiving them and 
laying them on the table. He was opposed to incendi- 
ary documents being carried in the mails. He advo- 
cated the bill abolishing imprisonment for debt, and it 
passed the Senate with only four nays. Colonel W. C. 
Preston, of South Carolina, was one of the four who 
voted against the passage of the bill. 

In 1837 Mr. Grundy resigned his seat in the Senate, 
and in 1838 was appointed by President Van Buren 
Attorney-General of the United States. In 1839 he 
was again elected United States Senator by the Legisla- 
ture of Tennessee, when he resigned his seat in Presi- 
dent Van Buren's Cabinet and accepted his seat in the 
Senate. In the American Encyclopedia it is stated that 
Mr. Grundy died before taking his seat in the Senate. 
This is a mistake. On the 5th of March, 1840, Mr. 
Grundy made in the Senate a very long and a most 
able speech on the assumption of State debts. He intro- 
duced strong resolutions against such a measure, and 
showed that it was becoming popular with the Whig 
party, and he wished to forestall the measure. In this 
speech, advocating the adoption of his resolutions, he dis- 



FELIX GRUNDY. 553 

cusses the question of the distribution of the public 
lands and the metallic currency question with great 
ability. 

Mr. Grundy died on the 19th of December, 1840, and 
his death was announced to the Senate by his colleague, 
Mr. Anderson. Colonel Benton, as well as Senator 
Anderson, paid very high compliments to the character 
of the deceased, his talents, his eloquence and patriotism. 
Mr. Anderson said : " Of his action here, I need not 
speak. Of one thing I think I am certain, he has left 
no enemy in this body, and many warm, very warm, and 
devoted friends, who will long cherish his memory. . . 
. . For his was a spirit ever kind, noble and bland 
as a summer morning. His eloquence charmed and 
delighted, often confounded, but never repelled, the 
admiration of his adversary." 

Colonel Benton said : " Mr. Anderson has presented 
the picture of a good man and of a great man , rising 
to eminence by the exercise of virtue and talents, and 
dispensing happiness in the family and social circle while 
discharging the highest duties of the jurist, the states- 
man and the patriot." 

The following description of Mr. Grundy is taken 
from the National Portrait Gallery : " Mr. Grundy's 
stature is of the ordinary height ; his form inclined to 
portliness, his complexion ruddy ; his hair light brown, 
mixed with grey, and his eyes blue. His countenance 
is intelligent and its expression mild, cheerful and 
benevolent, indicative of contentment and happiness; 
yet it shows much decision and firmness of purpose. His 
manners are amiable, unaffected, kind and conciliating 
in a high degree. His conversation is entertaining and 
instructive, abounding in humor and playful wit, and 
occasionally sarcastic and severe. He never permits the 
excitement of political contention to sour his temper, or 
to interrupt or embitter his social intercourse. He has, 
therefore, few personal enemies, and he often finds warm 
friends amongst his political opponents.'' 



554 FELIX GRUNDY. 

Such a man was Felix Grundy, the lawyer, the jurist, 
the statesman, the orator and the patriot. Well may 
three States, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, be proud 
of him as their son and adopted son. He honored them 
and he did honor to the whole Union. 



EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 

The family of Livingston has long been one of the 
most distinguished families of New York. They are 
■descended from the Lord Livingstons of Scotland. 
John Livingston, a lineal descendant of the fourth Lord 
Livingston, was a preacher of the Reformed Church of 
Scotland, and banished in 1663 for non-conformity. He 
took refuge in Rotterdam, where he died, leaving seven 
children. His son, Robert Livingston, emigrated to 
America, and settled in New York in 1675. He ob- 
tained a grant from the Governor for a large tract of 
land, which was afterwards known as the " Manor and 
Lordship of Livingston." This grant was afterwards 
confirmed by royal charter of George I. of England. 
He was connected with the Schuyler family by marriage. 
He left three sons. Philip Livingston, one of his 
grandsons, was a signer of the Declaration of American 
Independence. William Livingston, another grandson 
of Robert Livingston, was governor of New Jersey, and 
a delegate to the first Continental Congress in 1774. 
John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States, married 
his daughter. His wife was a daughter of the Revolu- 
tionary General Schuyler. Bror-kholst Livingston was 
a son of Governor Livingston of New Jersey, Judge of 
the Supreme Court of the United States., Robert R. 
Livingston, also a grandson of old Robert, and son of 
Robert Livingston, was the first Chief Justice of New 
York, and administered the oath of office to General 
Washington when he was first inaugurated President of 
the United States. He was afterwards Minister to 
Erance, and made the purchase of Louisiana. 

Edward Livingston, the subject of this sketch, was 
the brother of Chancellor Livingston, and likewise 

555 



556 EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 

grandson of the old emigrant, Robert Livingston. He 
was born in Columbia county, N. Y., May 26th, 1764. 
He graduated at Princeton College in 1781, in a class 
of only four. The college had, in a great measure 
been broken up by the ravages of the Revolutionary 
War, the library was scattered, the philosophical appara- 
tus destroyed, and the college building had been occupied 
by the British soldiers. Three of tiiese four graduates 
in 1781, thirteen years afterwards, met each other as 
members of Congress. They were Livingston, Venable, 
and Governor Giles of Virginia. Immediately after his 
graduation, Edward Livingston commenced the study 
of law at Albany, and was admitted to the bar in 1785. 
He devoted himself to his profession with unremitting 
diligence till 1794, when he was elected member of 
Congress. He had taken a very active part in urging 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution, which, together 
with his talents and success in his profession, induced 
the people of New York city to honor him with a seat 
in the House of Representatives of the United States, 
where he continued by re-election for six years. He 
was, during that time, a distinguished leader of the 
Republican party in opposition to the Federalists. 

In 1796 it was proposed in Congress to give the 
members a salary of one thousand dollars instead of six 
dollars per day. This compensation would have been 
about equal to a session of five months, and half-pay at 
six dollars a day. Mr. Livingston opposed this measure 
as unwise. He thought the per diem pay of six dollars 
more just and equitable than a salary of one thousand 
dollars. Twenty years afterwards this idea of paying 
the members of Congress a salary was adopted by Con- 
gress, and the salary was fixed at fifteen hundred dollars. 
Every member who voted for it, except John C. Calhoun 
and Henry Clay, was turned out of Congress at the next 
election. Now the members of Congress receive a salary 
of five thousand dollars, and nothing is said about it I 
Times change, and public opinion changes. 



EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 557 

On the subject of Jay's treaty Mr. Livingston took a 
decided stand against the ratification of it, although Mr. 
Jay was his brother-in-law. He introduced a resolu- 
tion calling on President Washington for the instructions 
given the American minister, which gave rise to a long 
and able debate. The President declined to give the 
instructions called for. Then the debate on the execu- 
tion of the treaty was continued for a great length of 
time, and Mr. Livingston made a long and able speech 
against the treaty. It was, however, ratified by a vote 
of ayes 51, and nays 48. 

When President Washington sent his last message to 
Congress declining to be a candidate for re-election, an 
address was adopted by the House expressing their con- 
fidence in the " wisdom and firmness " of his adminis- 
tration. The address was adopted by a vote of sixty- 
seven ayes to twelve nays. Amongst those twelve nays 
are the votes of Andrew Jackson, Edward Livingston 
and Governor Giles of Virginia. Jay's treaty excited 
a bitter feeling against the President, and made some 
refuse to vote for the address. Mr. Livingston likewise 
opposed the incorporation of a national university in the 
District of Columbia. He favored a gradual increase of 
the navy. He introduced a resolution to intercede for 
the liberation of Lafayette from the dungeon of Olmuts, 
and made a beautiful speech in favor of its passage ; 
but, strange to say, it did not pass. He opposed the 
address to President Adams in relation to French affairs, 
and opposed the arming of merchant vessels of the United 
States. He advocated a tax on lawyers. He favored 
making provision for the support of the daughters of 
Count de Grasse, in consequence of services rendered by 
their father in our Revolutionary struggle. He spoke 
ably and earnestly against the passage of the Sedition 
law as unwise, unjust, and unconstitutional. The bill 
passed by a vote of 44 to 41. Mr. Livingston opposed 
authorizing the capture of French vessels in 1799. In 
1799 he warmly advocated the repeal of the Alien and 



558 EDWARD LIVINGSTON 

Sedition laws. In the case of Jonathan Robbins, which 
was discussed for weeks in Congress, he thought Presi- 
dent Adams had acted unconstitutionally in taking him 
from the court in South Carolina and delivering him to- 
the British authorities, who tried and executed him for 
piracy and murder. 

It seems from this view of Mr. Livingston's course 
in Congress, that he was a warm democrat or republican 
partisan, and opposed the administration of Mr. Adams, 
and also that of General Washington, in some important 
particulars. He was a strong supporter of Jefferson, 
and was rewarded with the office of District Attorney 
for the United States in New York. He was also 
elected Mayor of the city of New York. A devastating 
pestilence visited the city during his term of mayor, and 
he stood by his post with great energy and firmness ; 
but he was stricken down himself, and was at the brink 
of the grave. When he recovered he found his affairs 
in a bad condition. His agents had proved defaulters 
to a large amount, and the responsibility of their mis- 
conduct fell on him. He determined at once to resign 
the high office which he held and remove to New 
Orleans. He arrived there in 1804, and commenced 
the practice of law, and his talents, learning and ability 
soon placed him at the head of the bar. In the course 
of a few years he made enough to discharge all of his 
liabilities with interest. The Government did not lose 
a cent by the defalcation of his agents. This was highly 
creditable to him. 

Soon after Mr. Livingston established himself in New 
Orleans he was appointed by the citizens of the Territory 
of Louisiana to draw up a petition to Congress for 
admission into the Union as a State, under the treaty 
with France, when the territory was ceded to the United 
States. This petition was drawn with signal ability, 
and attracted great public attention, but failed of its 
object. It is said by his biographer that his fortune 
was very much impaired after a residence of some years- 



EDWAED LIVINGSTON. 559 

in New Orleans, by Mr. Jefferson seizing his Batteere 
property, under a misrepresentation of facts and an 
unconstitutional exercise of his powers as President of 
the United States. Between him and Mr. Jefferson, 
who were old friends and political partisans, a fierce 
controversy grew up, known as the Batteere question. 
A pamphlet was written by each one of them, and it is 
said that Livingston's reply to Jefferson was unanswer- 
able. The question was finally decided in favor of 
Livingston, but it is said his heirs only reaped the 
advantage of this decision. After many years of bitter 
ill-feeling he and Jefferson became reconciled. Living- 
ston forgave the injury done him, and the more difficult 
task was left Jefferson, says Livingston's biographer, of 
forgiving a man whom he had injured. This is a very 
philosophical remark, and true. 

When Mr. Livingston heard that General Andrew 
Jackson had been appointed military commander of the 
post at New Orleans, he wrote him a letter asking him 
to make his house his home during his stay in the city,, 
and tendering his services as aide-de-camp to the 
general. General Jackson accepted his invitation, and 
appointed him one of his aides. The report of General 
Jackson after the battle of New Orleans was, no doubt, 
written by Mr. Livingston. It was certainly admirably 
drawn, and its style was that of a scholar. This, how- 
ever, was not the only paper written by Mr. Livingston 
for General Jackson. The celebrated proclamation of 
President Jackson against the nullification of South 
Carolina was also written by Livingston, and no abler 
or more eloquent state paper was ever issued by an 
American President.' 

Whilst Mr. Livingston was a member of Congress 
from New York, he attempted to get Congress to codify 
the criminal laws of the United States and make them 
milder. In this, however, he failed. But in Louisiana 
he was more successful. The laws of that State were a 
jumble of French, Spanish and English laws. Mr. 



560 EDWAKD LIVINGSTON. 

Livingston and Mr. Braccon, afterwards senator and 
minister to France, were appointed commissioners to 
prepare a code or system of procedure for the courts, 
and their work was adopted by the Legislature, and has 
ever since stood the test of experience. Mr. Livingston 
was then appointed, with three other gentlemen, to 
codify the municipal law of the State. This was a most 
laborious and difficult task, which, however, was per- 
formed to the great satisfaction of the public. Being a 
member of the Legislature, Mr. Livingston next intro- 
duced a bill to prepare a penal code for the State. This 
arduous and responsible duty was assigned to him alone, 
and he discharged it with signal ability. But after* he 
had completed his labors, and given the last finishing 
touch to the code, it was destroyed by fire, with all of 
his notes, rough drafts and papers, before it was given 
to the printers. Not at all disheartened by this terrible 
misfortune, he commenced his labors again the next 
day, and completed his great work once more in the 
course of three years. It is said : " The beauty of its 
arrangements, the wisdom of its provisions, the sim- 
plicity of its forms, and the clearness of its language, 
equal but do not surpass the philanthropy, the wise 
views of human character, the knowledge of social 
intercourse, and the insight into the sources of happiness 
and misery, by all of which it is distinguished far 
beyond any similar system of criminal law that has 
emanated from the jurists of any age or country." 

In 1823 Mr. Livingston was elected to Congress from 
Louisiana. More than twenty years had elapsed since 
he ceased to be a member from New York. It seems 
that he was in the House five years, and during that 
time he made a speech in favor of the claim of Beau- 
marchais, a Frenchman, who greatly assisted the United 
States financially during the Revolutionary War. He 
made a most beautiful speech in favor of a donation to 
Lafayette. He urged the establishment of a naval 
school, and said it was absolutely necessary to the sue- 



EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 561 

cess and glory of the American navy. On the penal 
code and crimes against the United States he was able, 
learned and philosophical. He contended the severity 
of punishment did not prevent crimes. He himself 
was opposed to all capital punishment. He said that 
during the existence of the Roman Republic, for a 
number of years capital punishment was abolished, and 
crimes were less frequent than they were afterwards, 
when capital punishment was restored. He spoke in 
favor of giving assistance to General Brown's family on 
account of his eminent services during the war of 1812. 
On the tariff bill of 1826 he expressed himself opposed 
to the principle of protection, but advocated a clause 
protecting the making of molasses. He opposed fur- 
nishing the Indians with firearms on our northwestern 
frontier as contrary to treaty stipulations with Russia, 
and might have added unwise and wrong per se. 

In 1829 he was elected by the Legislature of 
Louisiana a member of the United States Senate, and 
he was a great accession to that illustrious body of 
eminent statesmen. His first speech in the Senate was 
on the famous resolutions of Foote, and it is a speech 
which every citizen in the Republic should read and 
study. He dissents from the doctrine of Mr. Webster 
that this, a popular consolidated government, and also 
from that of Governor Hayne, that it is purely a 
Federal compact government, and that a State can 
nullify an unconstitutional act of Congress. He con- 
tends that it is, what every sensible man ought to 
admit, a government partly Federal and partly national. 
Sovereignty is divided between the States and the 
national government, I will give his own language: 
" This government, then, is neither such a federal one, 
founded on a compact, as leaves to all the parties " (the 
States) " their full sovereignty, nor such a consolidated 
popular government as deprives them of the whole of 
that sovereign power. It is a compact by which the 
people of each State have consented to take from their 



562 EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 

own legislatures some of the powers they have conferred 
on thein, and to transfer them, with other enumerated 
powers, to the government of the United States, created 
by that compact." This is the true theory of our 
Federal constitution. 

In 1831 Mr. Livingston was appointed by President 
Jackson Secretary of State, and no one in that high and 
important office ever discharged its duties with more 
ability and fidelity. The truth of this assertion will 
appear from his instructions given to our ministers at 
London, Paris, St. Petersburg, Lisbon, the Hague, 
Mexico, and the South American States. There is now 
no doubt of the fact that Jackson's famous proclamation 
against the nullification proceedings of South Carolina 
was written by Mr. Livingston, and heartily approved 
by the President. It is written with great ability and 
great eloquence, and expresses in patriotic and classical 
language the true nature of our complex form of 
government. The principles expressed are those em- 
bodied in Mr. Livingston's great speech on Foote's 
resolutions. In that speech he shows by logical argu- 
ment and happy illustration, the truth and wisdom of 
the doctrine announced in the proclamation. 

In 1833 Mr. Livingston was appointed by General 
Jackson minister to France, where he remained until 
1835, representing the United States with ability and 
success in several important matters. He returned 
home, and died twelve months afterwards, in New 
York, on the 23d day of May, 1836. It is said he 
" was a man of very social tastes, great gayety of man- 
ners and perfection of temper. Amiability and goodness 
of heart are always the terms first employed in describing 
his character by those who remember him." That he 
was a man of surpassing ability, a great jurist, and a 
profound statesman all admit. He was a fine classical 
scholar, and wrote with great purity and taste. He 
was also an able and eloquent public speaker. His 
likenesses are not prepossessing; but his forehead is fine, 



EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 563 

broad and high, indicating a large volume of brain. 
It is said that a man's handwriting is some indication of 
his character. Mr. Livingston wrote a fine, large, bold 
hand, plain and distinct. His memoir, in the National 
Portrait Gallery, written before his death, says : " The 
nature of his public course evinces his benevolence and 
modesty ; nor do his writings display, in their admirable 
simplicity, in the beauty of their language, and in their 
classical taste, more of the accomplishments of a scholar 
than in the purity of their precepts and their anxious 
search for truth, they exhibit a heart filled with the best 
emotions, and animated with strong desires for the hap- 
piness and improvement of mankind." 



WADE HAMPTON. 

There were very few officers in either the Federal or 
the Confederate array who acquired a higher distinction 
in the late unfortunate war for gallantry, heroism and 
skill than General Wade Hampton. No one had more 
entirely the confidence of his command in battle, or was 
more loved and admired by his troops in camp. This 
popularity has followed him home in peace, and he is 
now the idol of his old soldiers and the admiration of 
those brave men against whom he fought in so many 
bloody fields of battle. There was no one, in the recent 
Democratic Convention in New York, a greater lion 
with Northern delegates than General Hampton. When- 
ever he rose in that body, and his name was announced, 
he was greeted with shouts of applause. Well may he 
be entitled, from his high and pure character, to be 
styled the Bayard of the South. He was the Achilles 
Murat of the cavalry. 

General Hampton was the son of Colonel Wade 
Hampton, one of General Jackson's aides-de-camp in the 
battle of New Orleans, and the grandson of General 
Wade Hampton of the Revolutionary army. In three 
successive wars these three generations of Hamptons 
have been conspicuous for their bold and daring gal- 
lantry. They were ail South Carolinians, and the 
largest planters in the Southern States. The great- 
grandfather of the present General Wade Hampton 
moved from North Carolina and settled in Spartanburg 
district previous to the American Revolution, and he 
and his wife, one son and a grandson were all massacred 
by the Indians at the breaking out of the Avar, in their 
own house ! Another son was murdered by the Tories, 
whilst seated at the table with his family, eating their 

5 6 4 



WADE HAMPTON. 565 

dinner ! After the Revolutionary war was over, Gen- 
eral Wade Hampton, the elder, became a most enter- 
prising, energetic and prosperous planter, and accumu- 
lated a princely estate in Louisiana, which has descended 
to his grandchildren. His residence in Columbia was a 
magnificent one, with beautiful grounds, shrubbery, and 
garden filled with flowers and exotics, which fortunately 
escaped the Sherman fires, and is now in the possession 
of General John S. Preston, who married the daughter 
of General Wade Hampton the elder. The father of 
General Hampton was a gentleman of high char- 
acter, pure honor, large fortune and princely munifi- 
cence. He was for four years State Senator in South 
Carolina, and was very often pressed to accept the 
office of Governor of the State, which he declined time 
and again. He kept open house at his beautiful resi- 
dence near Columbia, and entertained crowds of friends 
with the greatest hospitality. His dinner-parties, which 
were frequent, were most luxurious entertainments. 
He was fond of fine horses and blooded stock, and kept 
them for the turf. He made a great many importations 
of horses and cattle, and did a great deal to improve all 
kinds of stock. At a grand fair in Columbia, gotten up 
by the ladies for some charitable purpose, Colonel 
Hampton and his daughter were behind a table, spread 
with everything calculated to tempt the appetite, and 
dealing the viands out to the visitors. General Waddy 
Thompson went up to him and said in my presence, " I 
always knew, Hampton, that you kept a public house 
all your life, but I never knevv^you to charge before." 

General Hampton, the subject of this sketch, is a 
gentleman of great literary taste and scholarship. He 
had the finest private library in South Carolina, and 
many of the most costly books. I remember to have 
seen in it several volumes which once belonged to the 
library of King George III., and in some of them was 
the royal autograph. This library occupied two large 
rooms of his dwelling-house near Columbia, and was 



566 WADE HAMPTON. 

destroyed by General Sherman in his march through 
South Carolina. " Millwood," the beautiful and taste- 
ful residence of his father, had the torch applied to it at 
the same time. A rare and most exquisite collection of 
valuable curiosities and relics, statuary and paintings, were 
consumed in the house or carried off by the Federal 
soldiers. His plate, which must have been of great 
value, had, I think, been removed. 

General Hampton was for some years a member of 
the House of Representatives in South Carolina, and 
made a most valuable business member. He spoke 
well, and participated in all the debates and discussions 
of the House. Several of his speeches were reported, 
and are beautiful specimens of finished composition. 
The General has delivered a great many addresses before 
societies and colleges, which have been admired for 
their taste, moral tone and burning patriotism. He is a 
remarkably handsome man, with a bright open counte- 
nance, indicative of the true nobility of his nature. His 
manners are gentle, polished and courteous. There is 
no pretention about him, and his modesty is almost 
feminine. No one unacquainted with him would sup- 
pose he was the bold and daring, dashing cavalier which 
he has proved himself to be in his campaigns in Vir- 
ginia and marches into Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
He is about the ordinary height, stout and well-made 
for all athletic exercises, capable of enduring any hard- 
ship or privation which anyone else can bear. As a 
horseman and hunter he cannot be excelled. Some of 
his feats of horsemanship are most remarkable. He 
has great power, strength and activity. His mind is 
admirably balanced, and quick to conceive and prompt 
to execute. In judgment he is always prudent and wise. 
He was a Union man till his beloved native State 
seceded. He then tendered his services to the Confede- 
rate Government, and got permission to raise a legion 
in South Carolina. Honor, patriotism and virtue taught 
him willingly to sacrifice his life if necessary in the 



WADE HAMPTON. 567 

defence of his country and those great principles of 
self-government for which his distinguished grandfather 
had fought so gallantly in the American Revolution. 

General Hampton visited Greenville in the spring of 
1861, and was several days at my house whilst organi- 
zing his legion. Two of the first companies of infantry 
and one of the first companies of cavalry were raised 
in Greenville district. They served with him for four 
years, and were discharged at the surrender of General 
Johnston in North Carolina. Knowing intimately as I 
do those young men, many of whom were my personal 
friends, and one of them my son, I have a right to speak 
authoritatively of their love and admiration for their 
commander. He hurried on to Virginia, and got there 
just in time to act a conspicuous part in the first battle 
of Manassas, and received a most dangerous wound in 
the forehead. He was for some time disabled, but he 
continued with his legion, and was ready for service 
before any other engagement took place. 

But it is not my purpose to follow the General through 
his campaigns. This I leave to the historian. It would 
occupy too much space for a sketch of this character to 
even "briefly allude to the many hard-fought battles in 
which he took a conspicuous part. Whilst standing in 
the New York Convention which nominated Seymour and 
Blair, a tall, fine-looking cavalry officer of the Federal 
army came up and enquired if the seats before him were 
those of the South Carolina delegation? He then 
enquired if General Hampton was present. We told 
him that he was not. He said he was desirous of seeing 
him and taking his hand. They had once met in a 
bloody battle in Virginia, and he had been whipped. 
He was anxious to see again the general who had 
whipped him, and to shake hands with him ! A day or 
two after the Convention adjourned, General Hancock 
came to New York, and I witnessed the introduction 
between him and Hampton. Hancock said to him, 
" We have met before, General." " Yes," said Hampton, 



568 WADE HAMPTON. 

" we met once I know in Virginia." In that meeting 
Hampton captured twenty-three hundred of Hancock's 
army ! They talked over the battle. Hampton said 
he had ordered some officer to take such a position, who 
protested and said he would be cut off. " Yes," said 
Hancock, " he would have been cut off, for 1 had com- 
mand of the road below." " No," said Hampton, 
" there was another road by which he could have secured 
his retreat." 

Whilst in New York, General Hampton was requested 
to address a crowd of five thousand persons at the 
Metropolitan Club, which he did with great success. 
He described the condition of the South under negro 
rule, and spoke of the tyranny and despotism of the 
military satraps who had been stationed in South Caro- 
lina. He addressed a large concourse of persons in 
Baltimore as he returned home. After reaching South 
Carolina he addressed a meeting of seven thousand 
persons in Charleston, and also large assemblages in 
Columbia, Aiken, Fairfield and Greenville. 

General Hampton is about fifty years old, and has 
been twice married. His first wife was the sister of 
William C. Preston, and his second wife was the only 
daughter of Governor George McDuffie. 

Since writing the above, General Hampton has deliv- 
ered an oration in Baltimore on " The Life and Charac- 
ter of General Robert E. Lee," which is one of the most 
admirable addresses of the kind that has ever been 
made on the death of a hero and patriot. It will be a 
gem in the history of the great contest in which the 
Southern States were engaged. Its condensation of the 
campaign of Lee in Virginia is not surpassed by any 
chapter of Thucydides on the Peloponesian war. His 
portraiture of the great Southern commander is admira- 
bly drawn. I heard a gentleman say, after reading this 
oration, that if General Hampton had never done any- 
thing before to establish his reputation for taste and 
scholarship, this production would give him that repu- 



WADE HAMPTON. 56 ^ 

tation. Some time before the death of General Lee, 
Hampton delivered an address in Lexington, before the 
college of which he was President. It was a beautiful 
production, and much admired by Lee and all who 
heard it or read it after its publication. In reference to 
it the following little incident was told me by General 
Hampton, illustrating the playful character of Lee. 
Hampton was not feeling well the morning he made his 
speech in Lexington, and General Lee called on him 
after it was all over, and enquired how he felt. Hamp- 
ton replied that he felt better, when Lee told him the 
following anecdote. There was a Scotch clergyman who 
said to his body servant that he felt too unwell one 
Sunday morning to preach in church. The servant told 
him that the congregation were all assembled, and he 
ought not to disappoint them. He accordingly went, 
and after the service was over his servant enquired how 
he felt then. The clergyman said he felt much better. 
" I thought," replied the servant, " that you would feel 
better after you got all that trash oif your stomach." 

General Hampton was twice elected Governor of 
South Carolina, and then United States Senator, which 
latter position he still fills with distinguished ability. 



THOMAS SUMTER. 

General Sumter, General Pickens, General Marion 
and General Hampton were so distinguished as partisan 
officers in our Revolutionary war that their civil services as 
statesmen and patriots seem to have been forgotten or 
overlooked in speaking of them. General Francis 
Marion was a member of the Legislature which con- 
vened at Jacksonboro, before the British Army evac- 
uated Charleston. This Legislature undertook to con- 
fiscate the estates of those loyalists and tories who took 
an active part against the independence of the colonies. 
General Marion, who had been one of the most active, 
persevering Whigs, opposed this measure as unwise 
and impolitic. Having succeeded in our revolution he 
thought we should be generous and forgiving to our 
erring fellow citizens. He thought our true policy, 
as well as humanity and magnanimity, required the 
Legislature to pursue that course. When a bill was 
introduced in this legislature to exempt Thomas Sumter, 
Francis Marion and other partisan officers from suits at 
law, on account of any trespasses or illegal acts they 
may have committed, General Marion rose and said: 
" Mr. Speaker, I move that the name of Francis Marion 
be stricken from the bill on your table. He has never 
done anything in war or in peace that he is afraid to 
account for in a court of justice." This was a noble 
expression, worthy of the most illustrious Roman or 
Grecian sage and patriot. General Harry Lee, in his 
memoirs of the Southern war says : " General Francis 
Marion was pure all over." General Hampton was 
for many years in the Legislature, in the State Conven- 
tion and in Congress. General Pickens was also a 
member of Congress, a member of the Legislature 
570 



THOMAS SUMTER. 571 

and State Convention. At one election, when he was 
not a candidate for the Legislature, his name was 
announced at the polls when opened, and he received 
every vote given in Pendleton District. He was 
strongly solicited to accept the office of Governor of 
South Carolina, and peremptorily refused. His son, 
Andrew Pickens, and his grandson, Francis W. Pick- 
ens, both filled this high office. General Pickens was 
unselfish and unostentatious, and in character very 
much like Washington. 

The early life of General Thomas Sumter is very 
little known. His family have been remiss and neg- 
ligent in giving information in regard to the early and 
private life of their distinguished ancestors. The 
author of the National Portrait Gallery, wrote to his 
grandson for information in regard to the sketch, which 
he was about to publish of General Sumter, and received 
no reply. It is to be hoped that the Hon. Lyman C. 
Draper, of Madison, Wisconsin, who has been engaged 
for years in collecting material for the life of Thomas 
Sumter, will be more fortunate than the author of the 
National Portrait Gallery was. Mr. Draper is Secre- 
tary of the Historical Society of Wisconsin and a liter- 
ary writer and scholar of eminence. When I had the 
pleasure of meeting him several year since, I was 
amused at the minute accuracy of his information in 
regard to the revolutionary history of South Carolina, 
and all her distinguished men. When I told him that 
the Hon. Samuel Earle, who was a gallant officer of the 
Revolution, and knew intimately Sumter, Pickens and 
Hampton, and married General Hampton's niece, did 
not speak so favorably to me of General Sumter, Mr. 
Draper replied : " Yes, I know that Sumter pressed for 
his little army, horses, provision, clothing and whatever 
they needed, wherever he could find it." This was the 
very charge made by Mr. Earle against Sumter. He 
paid off his officers and men with negroes, horses and 
cattle taken from the tories. This, Marion and Pickens 



572 THOMAS SUMTER. 

never thought of doing. But, in our late civil war, the- 
Federal officers not only helped themselves in the Southern 
States to everything they could find which their soldiers 
needed, but they robbed and plundered everything of 
value which came in their way, gold and silver, watches 
and jewelry and plate. The banks were plundered, 
and even the churches robbed of their sacred silver 
service. 

General Sumter was born in 1734, but where, whether 
in South Carolina, Virginia or North Carolina, we are 
not informed. He was a farmer and planter and it is 
likely his early education was very limited, as was that 
of most boys of that period. Before the Revolutionary 
war, Sumter had been Colonel of a military regiment 
and no doubt had acquired some military reputation. 
The Provincial Congress in 1776 appointed him Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the second regiment of riflemen. 
But it does not appear that he rendered any signal ser- 
vice till after the fall of Charleston in May, 1780. 
The surrender of Charleston was the surrender of the 
State to the British army. Many of the most gallant 
whigs, like Colonel Isaac Hayne, took protection from' 
the conquerors. Mr. Earle told me that he and Gen- 
eral Pickens both went to General Robert Cunningham 
and received British protection. Colonel Sumter did 
not do so, but fled to North Carolina. There he raised 
a regiment of rebels and returned to South Carolina. 

The first act of Colonel Sumter after his return to 
his own State was the destruction of Captain Huck, 
who commanded a large body of loyalists, and seventy 
or eighty British regulars. He was then appointed by 
Governor Rutledge a Brigadier General. He had com- 
mand of about six hundred men ; and with this force- 
he made a gallant and daring attack on the British post 
at Rocky Mount. He failed for the want of artillery 
in capturing the Fort. His next daring exploit was an 
attack on Hanging Rock, a British post, garrisoned by 
five or six hundred regulars, a part of Tarleton's legion,. 



THOMAS SUMTER. 573 

Brown's regiment and Bryan's corps of North Carolina 
tories. He was successful in forcing the enemy from 
his position. But his men became demoralized by the 
plunder they captured and the spirits they found in the 
British camp. The loss of the enemy was very consid- 
erable and Sumter's loss very small. He made a suc- 
cessful retreat, and the enemy did not attempt to pur- 
sue him. His want of artillery alone prevented his 
entire success. 

General Sumter now acquired the sobriquet of " the 
game cock of Carolina," by which he has ever since 
been distinguished. Hearing that a large detachment 
of the British forces were on their march from "Ninety- 
Six " to Camden, with stores and supplies for the main 
army, he applied to General Gates for a reinforcement 
of his command. He then fell upon the convoy and 
captured forty-four wagons with a large number of 
prisoners. His next engagement was a defeat at Fish- 
ing Creek. He was surprised and his command entirely 
defeated. After this defeat General Sumter retired to 
the upper country, and soon recruited his army. He 
was attacked by Major Wingo, with a large force, on 
the banks of the Broad River. He defended himself 
most gallantly, and destroyed the enemy. His next 
engagement was with Colonel Tarleton at Blackstock 
Hill. His defence was a splendid victory, and Colonel 
Tarleton was forced to retire after sustaining great loss. 
He then attacked Fort Granby, and would have cap- 
tured it but for the appearance of Lord Rawdon with 
reinforcements. He then captured the fort at Orange- 
burg, and distinguished himself at Monks Corner. 

After the close of the Revolution General Sumter was 
a member of the Legislature, and voted against the call 
of a Convention to ratify the Federal Constitution. He 
was a member of the Convention, and voted against the 
adoption of the Constitution. He was elected a mem- 
ber of Congress when the Federal Government was first 
organized, and he advocated, in a speech of some mark, 



574 THOMAS SUMTER. 

that the permanent seat of the Federal Government 
should be on the banks of the Potomac. He spoke 
warmly against giving the President power to remove 
members of his Cabinet, and said it was a detestable 
principle, destructive of the Constitution and liberty. 
In January, 1792, we find him making a very strong 
speech against reflections cast on the militia of South 
Carolina by General Greene. In 1793 he makes another 
elaborate speech on the same subject. In this speech 
he was very severe on his colleague, Robert Goodloe. 

In 1801 General Sumter was elected United States 
Senator in the place of Governor Charles Pinckney, 
who resigned, and he was again elected in 1805, and 
resigned his seat in 1810. Governor John Taylor was 
elected to fill his vacancy. It is stated, in a sketch of 
General Sumter, in the New Encyclopedia, that he was 
appointed Minister to Brazil in 1810, and two years 
afterwards elected United States Senator. This is a 
mistake, as to the time of his going into the United 
States Senate. He was first elected, as I have already 
stated, in 1801, and re-elected in 1805. 

" General Sumter was tall and robust, with a bold 
and open countenance, expressive at once of energy 
and decision." He lived to be ninety-eight years old, 
and died in 1832. He retained his faculties in great 
vigor as long as he lived. I remember seeing a long 
letter from him to Dr. Symmes, editor of the Pendle- 
ton Messenger, in 1830, on the subject of nullification 
and State secession. Dr. Symmes wrote to him to 
know his views. He expressed himself warmly in 
favor of the right of a State to nullify an unconstitu- 
tional act of Congress, and secede from the Union. 
The length of the letter, which was a political essay, 
and the warmth of its tone induced me to believe that 
one of his grandsons had something to do in its com- 
position. One of these grandsons was shortly after- 
wards elected a member of Congress from South Caro- 
lina, and was a great '* fire-eater." 



THOMAS BUMTER. 575 

General Sumter had the honor of having a county- 
named after him in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida 
and Alabama. He lived in great retirement during the 
latter part of his life. His son, whom I remember to 
have once seen in Columbia, had some foreign mission 
and married a French lady. He had two sons, both of 
whom were at different times members of Congress. 
One of them commanded a company in the regiment of 
Governor Butler, in Mexico. The gsave of General 
Sumter was greatly neglected for a number of years. I 
heard a gentleman say he once visited it, and found no 
monument or tombstone over it. Nothing to mark 
the spot where one of Carolina's most distinguished 
Revolutionary officers rested. 

In the State Convention which ratified the Federal 
Constitution, General Sumter was a member, as I have 
already stated. He was very strongly opposed to the 
adoption of the Constitution, and moved in the Conven- 
tion that the consideration of it should be postponed 
till the action of Virginia was known. This motion 
was voted down by a majority of forty-six, and a burst 
of applause ensued, as it was a test vote. 

In looking over Lanman's "Dictionary of Congress"- 
— a curious book — giving a sketch of all the members 
of Congress from the origin of the Government and a 
list of all the Foreign Ministers, I see it stated that 
Thomas Sumter of South Carolina was Secretary of the 
French Legation in 1801, and Minister to Portugal in 
1810. This could not have been General Thomas Sumter 
as the writer in the "New Encyclopaedia" supposed 
General Sumter was sixty-seven years old in 1801 a J 
would not, at that period of life, with his reputati " 
have accepted such a position under the Govern m / 
Moreover, he was by education and habit utterlv ^ ' 
qualified for performing the duties of a Secretary 1S ~ 

Again, it is not at all probable that General S 
would at the age of seventy-seven have accepted - er 
sion to Portugal or Brazil as the writer in the E ] S ~ 



576 THOMAS SUMTER. 

paedia says. This Thomas Sumter, Secretary of the 
French Legation and Minister to Portugal, must have 
been a son of General Sumter's, already alluded to in 
this sketch. I never before heard of General Sumter 
having a Foreign Mission, and I have heard all my life 
of his son holding some position of that kind. 



COLONEL BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

There is an instinct of human nature which prompts 
us to commemorate the virtues and heroic achievements 
of the illustrious dead. We delight to honor the mem- 
ory and sketch the lives and erect monuments to the 
heroes and patriots who have achieved honor and glory 
for their country. Such a feeling is not only praise- 
worthy and commendable in itself, but it inspires the 
young and future generations with a laudable ambition 
of emulating the example of their ancestors ; it teaches 
them to love virtue and patriotism, honor and 
distinction. 

In all civilized nations, from the remotest antiquity, 
it has been their custom to celebrate on public occasions 
the hallowed deeds of the great and good. The polished, 
intellectual and sesthetic-loving Greeks were eminent in 
their exertions to perpetuate the remembrance of the 
noble deeds of their great men, their great heroes, states- 
men and patriots. Hence their eloquent and thrilling 
funeral orations, their magnificent monuments, their ex- 
quisite statues and their beautiful paintings. A modern 
historian has said that " a Grecian knew that if he per- 
ished in achieving any heroic deeds his country would 
honor his ashes and watch over his memory ; that his 
glory, heightened by matchless masters of eloquence, 
would flash like lightning from the heavens; that lovely 
bosoms would beat high at his name ; that hands the 
fairest in Greece would yearly wreathe his tomb with 
garlands, and that tears would be shed forever on the 
spot by the brave." The warlike Romans, full of 
virtue, honor and patriotism, tried to emulate the Gre- 
cians in this respect by honoring and glorifying their 
ancestors. We discover the same national trait dis- 
577 



578 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

played in the magnificent antiquities of Egypt and all 
the Eastern nations. 

The Chinese have carried this laudable sentiment to 
excess, and they worship their illustrious ancestors as 
gods and demigods ! In illustrating how strong this 
feeling is in England, and has been for centuries past, I 
need only refer to Westminster Abbey. France, glori- 
ous and fickle, has shown her appreciation of her heroes 
and men of science by the magnificent structures in 
Paris to their memory. Scarcely a distinguished man 
dies in New England without a biographical sketch 
being written of him, portraying his virtues, his talents 
and his public services. In due course of time, a public 
monument is erected to his memory. 

But how has it been in South Carolina? This proud 
little State has produced as many sons eminent for their 
talents, genius, eloquence, statesmanship and heroism as 
Massachusetts herself, the chief of New England, and 
where are their written lives and public monuments? 
It must be confessed that we have been culpably remiss 
in cherishing the memory and recording the virtues of 
our great men. No life has ever been written of that 
grand old Roman, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney ("mil- 
lions for defence, but not a cent for tribute "), whose 
honor, patriotism and talents may have been equalled, 
but never surpassed. He rests in his grave without a 
public monument. John Rutledge, who was pro- 
nounced by Patrick Henry to be without a peer for 
eloquence in the first Continental Congress, and who 
was clothed with dictatorial powers in South Carolina 
during the Revolutionary war, never had a monument 
erected to his memory or a memoir of his life written, 
till a stranger undertook to write the lives of the Chief 
Justices of the United States, and, through necessity, 
had to include that of Chief Justice Rutledge. 

In the same neglected category is the name of Wil- 
liam Lowndes, the great American statesman, who would 
have been President of the United States had he lived. 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 579 

John C. Calhoun, who possessed the mind of Aristotle 
with the purest virtue, has only had a sketch of his life 
written as a sort of introduction to his political works, 
and his grave in Charleston is without a monument. 
The memory of Langdon Cheves, who was one of the 
intellectual giants of his day, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives of the United States, president of the 
old United States Bank, and Judge of South Carolina, 
has been utterly neglected. Robert Y. Hayne, the peer 
of Webster in debate in the Senate of the United States 
and the idol of South Carolina whilst living, has no 
public monument nor life written. George McDuffie, 
who, Colonel Benton said, " was equal to Demosthenes 
in his prime," is almost forgotten. The same may be 
said of Hugh S. Legare, the most accomplished scholar 
and, orator of America; James L. Petigru, the great 
lawyer, loved by all who knew him for his noble heart 
and great intellectual endowments and learning; Wil- 
liam C. Preston, the Cicero of the Senate, and James H. 
Hamilton, the Bayard of the South. Any one of these 
names would have been enough to illustrate an era and 
distinguish a nation. 

When we find the memory of such men as I have 
enumerated neglected and their virtues and public ser- 
vices forgotten, we need not be surprised to know that 
the heroic achievements and patriotism of Cleveland, 
Pickens, Williams, Sumter and Marion have never been 
properly commemorated by their State ; no lives of them 
have been written, except Marion, and no monuments 
erected to their memory. We are now enjoying the 
liberty and independence which they achieved for their 
State and country, and we have almost forgotten their 
services and sufferings, the blood they shed for us, and 
the example they set us ! 

Thirty years ago a gentleman told me that he went to 
visit the grave of General Sumter, " the game-cock of 
Carolina/' and actually drove his sulky on it before he 
was aware of the sacred spot ! There was nothing to 



580 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

designate the place where the old hero rested ! I 
remember visiting, when a boy, the grave of Colonel 
Benjamin Cleveland, on the banks of the Tuguloo, in 
Pendleton District — now Oconee County — and I found 
it in the neglected state that Sumter's was, except, I 
think, there may have been a granite slab covering it ; 
but the brambles and briars and bushes had grown up 
all around where lay the great hero of King's Moun- 
tain ! Many years afterwards, in passing through that 
neighborhood, I inquired of a farmer if Colonel Cleve- 
land's grave was still neglected, and he replied that it 
looked like an old hog pen ! Some one had built, years 
before, a square pen around it out of pine-saplings and 
they had rotted down. 

I have found great difficulty in collecting material for 
a sketch of Colonel Cleveland's life and character. .The 
events of his life, like the pine poles which surrounded 
his grave, have rotted out of the memory of the present 
generation, and there are few living who know anything 
about him. My father and Colonel Benjamin Cleveland 
lived neighbors on Tuguloo River, Pendleton district, 
South Carolina, for many years, after the Revolutionary 
war, and until the death of the Colonel. I have heard 
him speak of " the old Colonel" very often, who died 
many years before I was born. He said he once visited 
him, a bitter cold frosty morning, and found him sitting 
in his piazza, with nothing on but a thin calico morning 
gown, and that his legs were of a purple color. He said 
to him : " This is a very cold morning, Colonel Cleveland." 
" No, no," replied the old hero, " it is a very fine morn- 
ing, and I have come out to enjoy the fresh morning 
air." He weighed at that time four or five hundred 
pounds, and in consequence of his enormous obesity was 
as insensible to cold as he had been in his younger days 
to fear. 

Colonel Cleveland was one of nature's great men, 
great in every respect, great in person, great in heart 
and great in mind. He was a man of extraordinary 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 581 

judgment, good sense and practical wisdom. He was 
honest, truthful and honorable, and discharged his duties 
frankly and fearlessly. Like General Andrew Jackson, 
when he hung Arbuthnot and Ambrister, in the Florida 
or Indian Campaign, he was never afraid to take respon- 
sibility. Some time after Colonel Cleveland's removal 
to South Carolina, and whilst the nearest court was held 
at " Ninety-Six," a notorious tory and horse thief was 
captured and carried to Cleveland's. His captors wished 
to know what should be done with their prisoner. The 
old Colonel told them that the best disposition they could 
make of him was to take him out and hang him. This 
would meet the ends of justice speedily and save a good 
deal of trouble and expense. The fellow was accord- 
ingly hung up to the limb of a tree in the yard until he 
was dead, and then he was cut down and buried. 

It is well known that General Butler, of Revolutionary 
memory, the father of Judge Butler and Governor But- 
ler, and grandfather of our present Senator Butler, did 
the same thing, at old Cambridge, about the same time. 
Judge Burke was holding court. General Butler and 
his friends went into the court house in the presence of 
the Judge, and took a prisoner out of the dock, and 
hung him. He was a notorious tory, horse-thief and 
assassin. It is said his wife came and implored the 
Judge to save her husband. His Honor, who was an 
Irishman, replied : " Before God, my good woman, I 
dare not do so, for they would hang me if I did." 

When county courts were established in the upper 
part of South Carolina, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, 
General Andrew Pickens and General Robert Anderson 
were appointed Judges of the court for Pendleton county. 
Colonel Cleveland, though a judge, was, like his asso- 
ciates, no lawyer, and had a great contempt for the tech- 
nicalities of the law and all its delays. His desire was 
to administer justice promptly and fairly. After hearing 
the evidence in a case, his clear mind and good sense 
came quickly to a conclusion, and he did not care to hear 



582 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

argument. He would frequently take a snooze whilst 
the lawyers were making long prosy speeches in the case. 
Being very fleshy, he would sometimes snore so loud in 
his snooze as to interrupt the proceedings of the court. 
His associates on the Bench would then give him a 
hunch and wake him up. These county courts were 
very Democratic institutions, something like the old Pie 
Pander courts of England. 

In the discharge of his judicial duties, Colonel Cleve- 
land acted according to the advice given by a learned 
English barrister, to Chief Justice Gordon, of South 
Carolina. Gordon was an Irishman and had never read 
law. After his appointment he consulted a distinguished 
lawyer in London, to know what books he had better 
read. The lawyer advised the newly appointed Chief 
Justice not to bother himself with books or law, but to 
decide every case according to his sense of justice and 
right. " If you undertake to decide according to law," 
said this eminent barrister, " you will be sure to make a 
mistake." 

Colonel Benjamin Cleveland was a native of Virginia. 
He and his brother Robert moved to Wilkes county, 
North Carolina, after they were grown, and just before 
the commencement of the Revolutionary War. The 
Colonel, like General Washington, received only the 
rudiments of an English education, and studied surveying. 
Wilkes county was then just being settled, and there 
was great demand for the services of some one to survey 
the lands of the settlers and mark out their boundaries. 
No doubt the Colonel found this a profitable employment, 
and it made him acquainted with all the people of the 
county. He was chosen their first representative in the 
Legislature, in 1778. In 1779 he was elected to the 
State Senate. He had risen also from the rank of an 
ensign in the militia to that of captain of a company. 

The Cherokee Indians annoyed the settlers of Wilkes 
county very much about this time, and their depredations 
and assassinations continued until the expedition of 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 583 

General Rutherford, of North Carolina, and General 
Williamson, of South Carolina, put a stop to them. 
Colonel Cleveland commanded a company in this expe- 
dition, under General Rutherford. The privations, 
hardships and suffering of the soldiers and officers, as 
described by General Lenoir, who was a lieutenant in 
Cleveland's company, were very great indeed, and almost 
incredible. But Cleveland was at that time a perfect 
athlete, with a large frame and an iron constitution, 
capable of enduring almost any fatigue and hardship. 
He was bold, fearless and self-willed, full of hope and 
buoyancy of spirits. He was accustomed to the forest 
and climbing mountains in hunting wild animals and 
surveying. 

This expedition of Rutherford and Williamson com- 
pletely subdued the Cherokee nation. Their cornfields 
were destroyed and their towns and villages burnt. But 
on the return of the troops, having subdued one enemy, 
they found another at home in their midst. The tories of 
that region of country were nothing more nor less than 
robbers, plunderers and assassins. Their depredations 
were, perhaps, worse than those of the Indians. Colonel 
Cleveland was the chief commander and leader of the 
whigs. Wheeler, in his History of North Carolina, 
says : " Cleveland was the leader of a hundred fights 
with the tories." On some occasion he apprehended 
two of their outlaws, Jones and Coil, and hung them ! 
Soon afterwards, whilst all alone, Cleveland himself was 
captured by the tories, and they told him to write passes 
for them. He was an indifferent scribe, wrote slowly, 
and was in no hurry to finish his task, for lit believed 
they intended to kill him after he had written their 
papers. Whilst thus engaged in writing, his brother, 
Robert Cleveland, came up with a party of whigs, fired 
on the tories, and secured his brother. Riddle, who 
commanded this tory company, was afterwards captured, 
with his son and another follower, carried before Cleve- 
land, and by his orders all three of them were hung near 



584 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

the Mulberry Meeting House, now Wilkesboro'. Gen- 
eral Lenoir relates another instance of Cleveland's sum- 
mary punishment of a tory thief. The General, who 
was then a captain in Colonel Cleveland's regiment, appre- 
hended a fellow stealing his stirrups from his saddle. 
He carried him to the Colonel who ordered his thumbs 
to be put in a notch in an arbor fork, and receive fifteen 
lashes. This, says the General, gave origin to the 
expression, " to the notch." It may well be supposed 
that Cleveland was, as the historian states, u the terror of 
the tories." 

After the capture of Charleston, and the defeat of Gen- 
eral Gates at Camden, Lord Cornwall is thought South 
Carolina was completely subdued, and that the time had 
arrived when he might rally all the tories, disaffected 
and timid, to his standard. For this purpose he sent 
Colonel Ferguson, a bold, daring, skilful and active officer 
of the British army, to stir up the loyalists in the upper 
parts of North and South Carolina. Botta, the Italian 
•Historian of the American Revolution, whose work is a 
most admirable one, says the greater part of those who 
repaired to Colonel Ferguson's standard, lt were of the most 
profligate and most ferocious description of men." "Be- 
lieving anything admissible with the sanction of their 
chief, they put everything on their passage to fire and 
sword!" These atrocious excesses inflamed the whigs 
with the desire of revenge. Without any authority from 
Congress or the State authorities, they assembled and 
demanded of their officers to lead them on to battle. They 
had no commissaries or quartermasters, no provision or 
baggage wagons. Each man carried his wallet, and his 
blanket and his gun. They slept on the earth, and 
slaked their thirst in the streams they passed over. Their 
only food was ears of corn parched and pumpkins roasted. 

These brave mountaineers were under the command 
of Colonel Campbell, of Virginia, Colonels Cleveland, 
Shelby, Sevier and McDowell, of North Carolina, and 
Colonels Williams, Lacey, Hawthorn and Hill, of South 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 585 

Carolina. Their united forces numbered sixteen hundred. 
They selected one thousand of this number and mounted 
them on their fleetest horses, who overtook Ferguson at 
King's Mountain. The troops were divided into three 
divisions, under Colonels Lacey, Campbell and Cleveland. 
Lacey with the South Carolinians commenced the attak 
on the west. The other two attacked on the east and in 
the centre. They had rode all night in pursuit of 
Ferguson, who was aware of their pursuit. It is said 
that when he came to King's Mountain he profanely 
exclaimed, " this is a position from which God Almighty 
cannot drive us !" 

Dr. David Ramsay, in his History of the United States,, 
says that Colonel Cleveland addressed his command before 
going into battle " in the following plain unvarnished 
language," which showed his good sense and knowledge 
of human nature : 

" My brave fellows ! We have beat the tories and we 
can beat them again. They are all cowardly. If they 
had the spirit of men, they would join with their fellow- 
citizens in supporting the independence of their country. 
When engaged you are not to wait for the word of com- 
mand from me. I will show you by my example how 
to fight. I can undertake no more. Every man must 
consider himself an officer and act from his own judg- 
ment. Fire as quick as you can and stand as long as 
you can. When you can do no better get behind trees, 
or retreat; but I beg of you not to run quite off. If we 
be repulsed, let us make a point to return and renew the 
fight. Perhaps we may have better luck in the second 
attempt than in the first, If any of you be scared, such 
have leave to retire ; and they are requested imme- 
diately to take themselves off." 

It is very likely this " plain unvarnished " speech had 
a most salutary influence on the minds of the soldiers. 
It was obeyed in the fight to the very letter. They did 
get behind trees and rocks and fired. They were repelled 
and did " not run quite off." They came back to the 



586 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

charge and renewed the fight. They did " have better luck 
in the second attempt." Colonel Ferguson, who fought 
desperately, was shot down, and his command immediately 
surrendered. There were eight hundred prisoners taken, 
and two hundred and twenty-five killed and wounded. 
The loss of the whigs was very small. But in this small 
number was Colonel Williams, of Ninety-Six, a bold and 
gallant officer, who was willing to offer up his life on the 
altar of his country for her independence and liberty. 
Ten of the tories were hung for their crimes and in retali- 
ation for the whigs who had been executed in Georgia 
and South Carolina. Some of these ten were very promi- 
nent men, and had no doubt been active in stirring up the 
lawless " ferocious men " who had committed so many atro- 
cious acts on the whigs. Colonel Cleveland knew them, 
and he was not the man to pass lightly over atrocious 
acts committed on his friends and neighbors. There was 
no sickly humanity about him. He was ajust man and 
a bold, fearless man, not afraid to punish when punish- 
ment was merited. He was a stern man, and loved jus- 
tice more than he did mercy. He knew that very often 
mercy to a criminal was death to an innocent man. 

There is no doubt that most of the tories in the upper 
part of South Carolina and North Carolina joined the 
English for the purpose of plundering and robbing. 
They had no more political principle than they had 
moral principle. If they joined the whigs, there were 
no English for them to ro^b and plunder in the night. 
Therefore all the unprincipled and vicious became tories, 
to plunder and steal. They cared nothing for either 
king or country. Their leaders thought the rebellion 
would ultimately be suppressed, and they would be 
rewarded for their loyalty with office and honor, like the 
recreant sons of the Carolinas of the present day, when 
under the radical regimL 

The battle of King's Mountain, in which Colonel Cleve- 
land acted so conspicuous a part, was the turning point 
of the American Revolution. Everything went better 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 587 

for the Continental Congress afterwards. General Corn- 
wallis was checked in his march into Virginia. The 
battle of the Cowpens took place in January following. 
General Green, having taken command of the Southern 
army, fought the battle of Guilford Court House. Corn- 
wallis marched on, and his whole army was captured at 
Yorktown. 

After this great victory at King's Mountain, the militia, 
who had volunteered their services, returned home, like 
the Scotch Highlanders who always went home after a vic- 
tory, and would then return to the army again, after rest- 
ing and recruiting and enjoying their spoils. Colonel 
Cleveland no doubt went home with his brave troops, and 
I have no information as to his subsequent military career. 
He may have been in the battle of Guilford, and Wheeler 
states that he was ; but without giving any particulars 
of his services, and I do not know that any other histo- 
rian mentions the fact. Jt is not likely, however, that 
the bold, fearless and enterprising patriotism of Cleve- 
land could be idle whilst the war continued. 

In the history of North Carolina, Wheeler states that 
Colonel Ben. Cleveland, the hero of King's Mountain, 
" lived and died in Wilkes County, N. C. ! " This is a 
mistake, and I am surprised that it should have been 
made. Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary War, 
Colonel Ben. Cleveland moved to South Carolina and 
settled on the Tuguloo River, in Pendleton District, 
now Oconee County, and there he died, and now lies 
buried there, as I have already stated. The exact time 
of his removal I cannot give. My father moved from 
Greenville into the same neighborhood where Colonel 
Cleveland resided in 1788. I have often heard him say 
that when he and his brother, Nathemiel Perry, opened 
their store, five or six miles below Colonel Cleveland's, the 
old Colonel and his two sons, John and Absalom, and his 
son-in-law, who lived in North Carolina and was a Gen- 
eral, but whose name I have forgotten, came down to 
pay them a visit and trade with them. John Cleveland, 



588 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

who was an intemperate man, and full of fun and mis- 
chief, had acquired the soubriquet of "Devil John."" 
He introduced himself to my father by that name, and 
said that he expected to trade and drink a good deal 
with him, but that as my father and brother seemed to 
be genteel young men, he would behave himself gen- 
teelly whilst at their store. This promise he kept, and 
my father thought well of him; but he was afterwards 
killed in some drunken row in Georgia. 

The following extract of a letter received from one of 
Colonel Benjamin Cleveland's great-nieces, is interesting, 
and gives an account of the old Hero's descendants. 

"Colonel Benjamin Cleveland was born in Virginia, and 
with my grandfather moved to North Carolina probably 
in the year 1775, and settled on the Yadkin, in Wilkes 
County, where he remained until after the Revolution. 

" The regiment which did such effective service, and 
which Colonel Cleveland led with such distinguished gal- 
lantry at the battle of King's Mountain, was composed 
of hardy mountaineers. Men that slept upon the 
heather, men that quaffed the mountain rill, drawn from 
the counties of Surry and Wilkes. 

" My grandfather, Robert Cleveland, was in command 
of a company in his brother's regiment, and his nephew, 
Jesse Franklin, afterwards Governor of North Carolina, 
was the Adjutant. I have often heard my father say 
the distinguishing traits of Colonel Cleveland's character 
were indomitable courage and iron will. 

"It seems from Wheeler's History that he aided his 
country not only in 'arms,' but also in 'council,' serving 
for several years in both branches of the Legislature. 

" At what time Colonel Cleveland removed to South 
Carolina and settled in Pendleton District I do not know. 
He had only two sons, John and Absalom. John was 
a man of good abilities, but died early from intemper- 
ance, leaving four daughters and two sons, Benjamin and 
Fouche Cleveland. These the grandfather took and 
educated. The daughters married prominent men in 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 589 

the State of Georgia ; one, Colonel James Smith, a lawyer 
of Macon, another a relative, a Mr. Franklin, of Athens, 
and their only daughter married Governor McDonald. 

"General Ben. Cleveland was, I believe, a member 
for some years of the Georgia Legislature. His daugh- 
ter, Catherine, married General Rush, of Texas. Many 
years ago I had the pleasure of meeting with the 
General and hearing him make a most sensible speech in 
the United States Senate. 

" Colonel Cleveland has had, and still has, many de- 
scendants who reflect credit on his name. Colonel Robert 
Smith, his great-grandson, the Christian soldier and 
gentleman, fell at the battle of Malvern Hill, gallantly 
leading the 44th Georgia Regiment into action. And 
his great-great granddaughter, Mrs. Eliza Harper, of 
Minden, La., is well known in the world of letters as a 
poetess and fine writer of prose." 

Absalom Cleveland, the other son of old Colonel Ben. 
Cleveland, was very eccentric, and in the latter part of 
his life, deranged. For several years he refused to say 
a word to any one, and the first time he spoke after his 
loug silence, was to tell a servant who was putting wood 
on the fire to " stop," that he had put enough on ! Be- 
fore his death he in a great measure recovered his mind, 
and made his will which was contested in court, and 
established. I was of counsel for the executor in the 
trial of the case. He left one daughter, I know, who 
married Thomas Horthen, of Oconee County. He may 
have had other children. 

In 1841 the Legislature of North Carolina formed a 
new county out of Rutherford and Lincoln Counties, and 
named it Cleveland, in honor of the memory of the old 
hero of King's Mountain. This was nothing more than 
an act of merited justice on the part of the State to one 
who did such gallant service in the Revolutionary War. 
In the battle of King's Mountain Colonel Cleveland cap- 
tured an English drum which he kept and exhibited to 
his friends who visited him at his residence on the 



590 BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 

Tuguloo River. I remember hearing Judge Clayton, of 
Georgia, speak of seeing this drum on one of his visits to 
the old Colonel. What became of it I cannot ascertain. 
It would be an interesting relic to exhibit at the centen- 
nial celebration of the battle of King's Mountain. 

Colonel Benjamin Cleveland had two brothers and asis- 
ter, and he may have had others. Robert Cleveland, one of 
his brothers, and a captain in his regiment at the battle 
of King's Mountain, was the father of Captain Jeremiah 
Cleveland, the patriarch of Greenville, and Jesse Cleve- 
land of Spartanburg, both remarkable for their good 
sense, wisdom, practical judgment and integrity of 
character. His brother, John Cleveland, was a Baptist 
preacher, and very successful in his addition of members 
to his church, on Chaugo River, Oconee County. He 
used to baptize as many as fifty on a Sabbath, and it is 
said that he once remarked, "if one in ten proved to be 
good Christians, he had made a good haul." His sister 
married a gentleman by the name of Franklin and was 
the father of Governor Franklin of North Carolina. 

It is said in Wheeler's History of North Carolina that 
Colonel Cleveland had an impediment in his speech which 
prevented his engaging in public life. I never heard of 
this impediment before, and doubt its accuracy. There 
is no doubt that if Colonel Cleveland had been educated he 
would have been a great and distinguished man, more 
so than he was. He was, as I have already said, a great 
man by nature. But in his day there were few schools, 
academies and colleges in the land, and a scholar in the 
backwoods of Virginia, North Carolina and South Car- 
olina, was a rare thing. Most of the patriots and heroes 
of the Revolution in this region of country were illiterate 
men. Hence, justice has never been done to their ser- 
vices and memory. A great many battles were fought 
and gallant actions achieved which, had they occurred 
in the Northern States, would have been blazoned in his- 
tory. 



BENJAMIN CLEVELAND. 591 

The farm on which Colonel Cleveland lived, after his 
removal to South Carolina, and where his remains lie 
buried, now belongs to Dr.William Earle. It is situated 
in the fork of Tuguloo and Chaugo Rivers, in Oconee 
County. The house in which he lived was a large 
wooden framed building, on the banks of the Tuguloo, 
commanding a fine view of the river for miles, and 
beautifully situated. It was afterwards burned down, 
and I remember seeing, whilst a boy, the chimneys still 
standing. The farm is a valuable one, although it has 
now been in cultivation nearly a century. A large por- 
tion of it consists of rich low grounds on the Tuguloo 
River. The country around is broken and full of hills, 
The mountains, too, of Georgia and South Carolina are 
close by, and present a grand panoramic view to the 
spectator. 

Note. — Since the above sketch was written a monument 
has been erected over the resting-place of Colonel Cleveland, 
by his relatives. 



COLONEL BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 

Nobility of nature, like genius, must be born with 
the man, or he can never attain it by education and 
association. In the humblest ranks of life some men 
are born noblemen, whilst in the most polished, refined 
society there are others born with scarcely a single vir- 
tue. To be brave, honorable, magnanimous and patri- 
otic, the man must be so by nature. These high quali- 
ties are what no art can acquire, nor education give. 
How often do we find the rarest virtues, as well as the 
rarest genius, in the humblest ranks of society. Shake- 
speare, Burns, Franklin and innumerable others, who 
have cast a halo of glory around their names, are happy 
illustrations of the latter assertion. 

Colonel Benjamin Roebuck, the subject of this bio- 
graphical sketch, was an instance of an humble and 
uneducated man, possessing all the great virtues which 
can adorn the human character. He was brave 
amongst the brave, patriotic, magnanimous, amiable 
and honorable. He was the beau ideal of a soldier and 
gentleman with his companions in arms. He inspired 
them with respect and admiration on all occasions and 
under all circumstances. They had implicit confidence 
in his courage, prudence and justice. He was modest, 
unselfish and unambitious. He sought only to serve his 
country and defend her independence and liberty. 
This was his sole ambition, and he discharged every 
duty of his life with honor and integrity. He sought 
no popularity or official position. When the latter was 
given him, and he thought he could discharge its duties 
to the interest of his country, he did not refuse it. 
He shrank from no danger or responsibility in the dis- 
charge of his duty. He fought through the whole of 
592 



BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 593 

the Revolutionary war, commanded a regiment in 
several important battles, was the idol of his command, 
and yet his name is not mentioned in history, and his 
virtues, patriotism and public services are only remem- 
bered in tradition. 

Many years ago, almost half a century since, I met 
a gentleman of Spartanburg, whose father was an inti- 
mate companion-in-arms of Colonel Roebuck, and the 
lieutenant-colonel of his regiment, who gave me a full 
account of the services and character of this modest and 
unassuming patriot and colonel of the Revolution. I 
must confess that it made a deep impression on my 
mind and set me to making further inquiry about Col- 
onel Roebuck. The more I heard of him the more I 
admired his character as a man and an officer, and I 
pronounced him in one of my Revolutionary Incidents 
published many years ago in the " Magnolia," one of 
nature's noblemen and the beau ideal of a brave officer. 

I met a great many men who had served under Col- 
onel Roebuck at the anniversary of the battle of the 
Cowpehs in 1832. They all spoke of him in the same 
exalted strain, as a man, an officer and patriot. The 
name, too, " cervus capriolus," a species of deer with 
erect horns, elegant shape, remarkably nimble and 
found in the mountains, made an impression on my 
mind. It seemed to me a beautiful name, and as eupho- 
nious as that of Plantagenet, the name of an illustrious 
line of English sovereigns, which signifies a broom in 
Norman French. 

After the fall of Charleston, in May, 1780, the condi- 
tion of South Carolina was generally regarded as hope- 
less. The British forces were scattered all over the 
State, and there was no regular army to oppose them. 
Mr. Madison introduced resolutions in the Continental 
Congress to treat with Great Britain by surrendering 
South Carolina and Georgia as Royal Provinces. An 
address was presented to Lord Cornwallis, signed by 
several hundred citizens of Charleston, congratulating 



594 BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 

his lordship on the conquest of the State. The timid 
and time-serving went and took British protection. 
The tories, who were mostly men of no moral or politi- 
cal principle, but who had espoused the Royal cause 
for the sake of plundering and robbing, were greatly 
encouraged by the condition of affairs, and committed 
the most atrocious acts all over the country. Dark, 
indeed, were the prospects of independence and liberty 
everywhere. But there were a few noble spirits, like 
Sumter, Marion and Roebuck, who never despaired of 
their country, nor relaxed in their efforts to serve her 
in the darkest period of her distress and despondency. 
They rallied around them a few of their bravest and 
most devoted partisans, and sought every opportunity 
of harassing the English and fighting the tories. 

Colonel Benjamin Roebuck was born in Virginia, a 
State from which most of the early settlers of the upper 
part of South Carolina came, whilst the lower country 
was settled two-thirds of a century earlier by immi- 
grants from England, France, Ireland and Scotland. 
His father moved from Virginia with his family some 
years previous to the American Revolution, and settled 
near Blackstocks, in Spartanburg District. He was, 
like all such emigrants, in moderate circumstances, and 
came to South Carolina to better his condition. Benja- 
min was quite young at the time of his father's removal, 
and his education consisted of reading, writing and 
arithmetic, enough to develop a great and good man, 
where talents and virtues are innate. As he grew up 
to man's estate, the Revolution broke out, and he 
espoused the cause of his country with ardor and firm- 
ness. His patriotic associates rallied around him. and 
looked to him as their leader, as well in war as in peace. 
He was the terror of the tories in that section of the 
State, who were mostly plunderers, horse-thieves and 
assassins. Manv were the skirmishes which he and his 
noble band of followers had with these lawless banditti, 
who cared for neither king nor country. 



BENJAMIN EOEBUCK. 595 

The first regular battle in which he was engaged was 
on the 18th day of August, 1780, under that gallant 
partisan officer, Colonel Williams, of Ninety-Six, who 
rendered up his life for his country at King's Mountain. 
This battle was fought at Musgrove's Mills, on the 
Enoree River. Colonel Williams had been active in 
collecting and animating the friends of liberty and inde- 
pendence. Colonel Tunis of the South Carolina Royal- 
ists was wounded and his entire command dispersed. 
This was almost the first check the British received after 
the fall of Charleston, and did much to inspire the 
drooping spirits of the Whigs in that section of the State 
with the hope of their country's ultimate success. In 
less than two months after the battle of Musgrove's 
Mills, Colonel Williams led his little band of patriots in 
search of Colonel Ferguson and his tory recruits. At 
the Cowpens he joined the forces from Virginia and 
North Carolina, under Campbell, Cleveland, Shelby and 
Sevier. They marched all night and overtook Ferguson 
at King's Mountain, on the 7th of October, and gained 
a great victory, capturing the whole British and tory 
forces, consisting of eleven or twelve hundred men, one 
hundred of whom were regulars. W T hat command Roe- 
buck had under Colonel Williams in this battle is not 
known. Captain Thomas Young, in his memoirs pub- 
lished in " Johnson's Traditions of the Revolution," 
says: "When our division came up to the northern 
base of the mountain, we dismounted, and Colonel Roe- 
buck drew us a little to the left and commenced the 
attack." 

Colonel Roebuck was in the battle of Blackstocks, 
under General Sumter, on the 20th of November, 1780, 
where General Sumter was badly wounded, and the 
command of his forces devolved on Colonel Twiggs, of 
Georgia. Colonel Tarleton commanded the British 
forces, commenced the attack and was driven from the 
field with considerable loss. The forces engaged in this 
battle were considerable on both sides, and Congress 
voted General Sumter their thanks for his victory. 



596 BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 

In July, 1780, was fought the battle of Cedar Springs, 
under Colonel Clark, of Georgia, in which Colonel 
Roebuck took an active part. Major Dunlap, of the 
British army, with sixty well-equipped dragoons, and 
one hundred and fifty mounted riflemen, commenced the 
attack about daylight, and was driven from the field in 
the course of fifteen or twenty minutes, with the loss of 
thirty or forty of his men left dead on the ground. 
Colonel Clark received a severe wound on the head, and 
had four killed and twenty-three wounded. 

In the battle of Cowpens Colonel Roebuck commanded 
a regiment. This was fought on the 17th of Jan- 
uary, 1781. Colonel Pickens commanded the militia, 
Colonel Howard the Continentals, Colonel Washington 
the cavalry, and General Morgan was in command of 
the whole army. The British were under the command 
of Colonel Tarleton, consisting of one thousand regulars, 
whilst Morgan's force was only eight hundred, and two- 
thirds of them were militia This was one of the most 
extraordinary battles of the whole Revolution. Dr. 
Ramsay, in his History of South Carolina, says : " The 
glory and importance of this battle resounded from one 
end of the continent to the other. It reanimated the 
desponding friends of America, and seemed to be like a 
resurrection from the dead, to the Southern States." 

In the summer of 1781, Colonel Roebuck determined 
to break up the headquarters of the tories and out-lyers 
at Williams' Fort on Mud Creek, in " Newberry Dis- 
trict." The strength of his regiment was only one 
hundred and fifty men. But with this small force he 
and his brave lieutenant, Colonel Henry White, thought 
they could roust the enemy by a stratagem. There were 
a few British soldiers in the front, and a large number 
of lawless tories, who had been committing all sorts of 
depredations on the Whigs in that section of the State. 
Colonel Roebuck ordered a portion of his mounted rifle- 
men to show themselves in front of the fort to draw out 
the garrison, and make a hasty retreat. In the mean- 



BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 597 

time his infantry were most advantageously posted in the 
woods, concealed from the enemy. The manoeuvre was 
successful. The garrison came out in full force, com- 
menced a hot pursuit, and were fired on by Colonel 
Roebuck's regiment, with most fatal effect. After a 
sharp and destructive engagement of a few minutes, the 
tories fled and the fort was captured. Lieutenant-Colonel 
White was badly wounded, and Captain Robert Thomas, 
a most gallant and beloved officer, was killed. This 
victory gave peace to that section of the country. 

Colonel Roebuck was at the siege of Ninety-Six, with 
his regiment, under General Green. He was there cap- 
tured by the enemy, and carried a prisoner to Charleston, 
where he was confined for a length of time, greatly 
exposed, and caught a cold which terminated in con- 
sumption. He lived only to see the independence of his 
country established, and death deprived him of the en- 
joyment of that liberty for which he fought so long and 
so gallantly. 

Colonel Roebuck was never married, and died as he 
had always lived, in his father's house. It is to be 
regretted that so pure and noble a gentleman left no 
descendants to inherit his virtues, his name and his fame. 
But kindred blood of his flows in the veins of many of 
the most respectable families of Spartanburg. The 
Honorable Simpson Bobo, a learned and distinguished 
member of the Bar, is the son of Colonel Roebuck's 
sister. Nor is his name extinct in the Spartanburg Dis- 
trict. I met one who bore that honored and euphonious 
name, in the Confederate army, immediately after the 
first battle of Manassas. 

It may well be asked why such a hero and patriot, as 
I have considered Colonel Roebuck to be, is not better 
known in history ? The answer is, that there were no 
writers of history in the upper part of South Carolina 
during the American Revolution ; and history has 
ignored the gallant achievements of her brave and pro- 
tracted sons. Dr. Ramsay, in his History of South 



598 BENJAMIN ROEBUCK. 

Carolina, regrets that no one has furnished him with a 
detailed account of the movements of Sumter and 
Pickens, as was done with Marion's brigade. When I 
recall the names of Pickens, Butler, Roebuck, Thomas 
and Samuel Earle and many, very many others, who 
fought so gallantly in the American Revolution, I am 
forcibly reminded of Gray's most beautiful and touching 
Elegy on a country churchyard, where many a hero lies 
buried, unknown to fame. 



LETTERS. 



599 



Letter from Dr. F. Peyre Porcher. 

Charleston, S. C, January 3, 1888. 
Mrs. B. F. Perry : 

Dear Madam. — I feel greatly obliged to you for the 
privilege of reading the Memorial of Governor Perry 
and his Address before the Students of Erskine College. 
Both of these publications will prove extremely useful 
to the people of the State ; and I am glad that through 
your wise and pious instrumentality they have been dis- 
seminated. 

The "Address" teaches the value of character and of in- 
dustry whilst giving instructive sketches of the lives of 
those who have furnished the most conspicuous examples 
of these qualities. The testimony afforded by the" Memo- 
rial " practically illustrates the exercise of moral courage 
—that highest virtue — the possession of which^ enabled 
your husband to face the overwhelming opposition even 
of those nearest and dearest to him. I witnessed one of 
these exhibitions, and could never recall it without apply- 
ing the lines : 

" Most master of himself and least encumbered 
When overmatched, entangled and outnumbered." 

As has been truly said, he was built upon the Roman 
mould ; and when surrounded by the popular fury, and 
the clamor of the multitude was urging on to unhappy 
measures, to him might, without exaggeration, be applied 
the description of Cato : — 

" Et cuncta terrarum subacta — 
Prceter atrocem animum Catonis." 

" The whole world was subdued— 
Save the inexorable soul of Cato." 



600 LETTEES. 

The ancients had a maxim, the justness of which is 
also strikingly exemplified in the life of Governor Perry. 
This was, " Respice finem." By it we are commanded 
never to be hasty or precipitate in our judgment, but to 
wait and estimate the value of a man's life at the end of 
his career, when all of his methods have had time to 
mature and bear fruit. His life has taught us all that 
time only was required to show the superiority of his 
views, the depth of his insight, and the wisdom of his 
plans. 

Hoping to see in print also the address delivered be- 
fore the Faculty and Graduates of the Medical College 
in this city, which was listened to with the greatest 
interest. 



Letter from James P. Adams. 

Congaree, S. C, September 30, 1887. 
Mrs. B. F. Perry : 

Dear Madam. — Please accept my thanks for sending 
me a copy of the Memorial Pamphlet of your deceased 
husband, the late Governor B. F. Perry. 

It is a worthy tribute to the virtues and abilities of a 
distinguished Carolinian. The future historian of South 
Carolina will place him among the remarkable men who 
lived at a period of her history fruitful of great men. 

Though many years the junior of Governor Perry, in 
reading the pamphlet, I recall many incidents of his 
career with which I was personally acquainted. I dif- 
fered with him on many of the great political issues 
which agitated the State ; but I always admired his 
fidelity to principle, and the Roman firmness with which 
he maintained what he conceived to be the right. 

He was no " time-serving" politician, swayed by popu- 
lar opinion, but a statesman, who possessed, to a remark- 
able degree, the courage of his convictions. He would 
rather be right alone than wrong with many. 



LETTERS. 601 

I remember an instance of this trait of his character 
when the Legislature of South Carolina passed the Act 
calling the convention to frame the ordinance of secession. 
I was a member of the Legislature at the time, and, 
when the bill came up on its final passage in the House, 
Mr. Perry, afterwards Governor, voted the solitary nega- 
tive that was cast against it. 

This action, which was in opposition to the overwhelm- 
ing sentiment of the State, I have always regarded as an 
instance of moral heroism, worthy of" Plutarch's men." 

There are many things I could write about the career 
of your distinguished husband ; for his name from my 
boyhood has been as " familiar to me as household 
words," but they would be out of place in a mere letter 
of acknowledgment. 

He leaves behind him for the example of the youth 
of the State : " Nomen, venerabile, clarumque" 



Letter from Col. Joseph N. Brown, an ex-Confederate 
Colonel. 

Anderson, 8. C, November 9, 188.7. 
Mrs. B. F. Perry : 

Dear Madam. — I have received the second edition 
of the Memorial of the late ex-Governor B. F. Perry 
and address before the Literary Societies of Erskine 
College, for which please accept my thanks. I esteem 
them the most valued treasures of my library. 

It was my fortune once to witness one of those grand 
displays of his boldness and independence, prompted by 
his convictions, for which he was noted. 

It was during the recess of the court at Laurens, on 
the 7th of November, 1860, when the news of Lincoln's 
election reached us. Then followed the news that the 



602 LETTERS. 

U. S. District Judge, District Attorney and Marshal 
had resigned. All had arisen to their feet, and several, 
including the Judge, exclaimed : " they did right." 
Major Perry, standing erect, and taller than the others, 
exclaimed : " I say they did wrong, and it's on the road 
to ruin." His appearance and manner of expression 
impressed me more of his greatness of character, which 
I shall never forget. I thought of it frequently during 
the last days of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865, 
when the limits of our then country were being rapidly 
drawing in daily, and our flags as well as our uniforms 
were fading and becoming tattered in sympathy with it. 
In common with my countrymen I should add, that I 
differed with him on that occasion, and helped to bring 
on the ruin which followed. 



Extract from a Letter written by a Gentle- 
man in Charleston to Gov. Perry, 

August 7, 1870. 

"On another occasion, and that was the morning after 
I had seen you on the stage in the memorable Conven- 
tion, standing with folded arms and head erect, facing 
the throng of hissers, who with yelling and hideous 
noise attempted to put you down, and at length were 
silenced no doubt by a desire to hear what one solitary 
individual would say in opposition to such a united 
assembly. And when you were allowed to speak, you 
with outstretched arm and warning finger, pointed out 
the natural effects of such madness as they have so fear- 
fully and sadly realized since. 

" If I possessed the artist's power, and could use his 
pencil, then would I paint that picture. It will ever 



LETTERS. 603 

remain on my memory. The picture of Bonaparte 
crossing the Alps. The battle of Waterloo, or the 
landing of the Pilgrims, or the signing of the Declara- 
tion of Independence would be no richer scene, or be ot 
more consequence than the mad cut of that day to our 
now afflicted Southern States. But to return to my 
friend, Mr. Pettigru, meeting him next morning at the 
corner of King and Broad streets, I said : ' Mr. Pettigru, 
what do you think of the stand taken yesterday by Colonel 
Perry, who it seems to me towered head and shoulders 
above all in that vast assembly ? ' Said Mr. Pettigru 

in his shrillest tones, ' friend , you don't know 

Perry as I do — he would stand and fight, whilst all 
those who hissed and hooted at him, would run away. 
I am now on my way to his rooms to congratulate him 
on the noble stand he took.' You, my dear sir, who 
knew Mr. Pettigru, can imagine his voice, his look, his 
manner as he uttered these words. It looks tame on 
paper. I was not then personally acquainted with you, 
but I knew you had been thirty years fighting to 
preserve the Union, I had been one of the humble fol- 
lowers who had kept you in view as a text book." 



Letter from Rev. H. Melville Jackson. 

300 W. Franklin St., Richmond, Va., 
December 13, 1886. 
My Dear Mrs. Perry. — To-day for the first time 
I learn of the great bereavement which has fallen upon 
you. I can measure somewhat the force of the blow, 
as those who have suffered can always appreciate the 
suffering of others; the chord of pain once struck in 
any bosom will not fail to vibrate again at the touch of 
sympathy. Ah ! my dear friend, I knew your husband 
but slightly compared with the knowledge possessed by 
those who lived for years under the genial influence of 
his presence ; but I yield to none in admiration of his 
splendid qualities, both as man and statesman. He 



604 LETTERS. 

came nearer to my ideal of a public man — a man of 
affairs — than any I have ever known. Massive the 
powers of his intellect ; stalwart the soul of him ; 
grandly faithful — a very tower of truth. His was a 
character the possession of which is an education to a 
community, a State, a country. In these times, when 
a nascent degeneracy threatens to breed for us a puny 
people, it is something to have known such a man and 
to hold in one's memory a figure of such noble pro- 
portion. You have for a time lost him, but you have 
not lost the solacing comfort which his greatness reflects. 
Surely of him the engraver can carve with truth upon 
the stone which marks his final resting place : " The 
world is better that he lived." 

I know that in your loneliness there is a pleasure, 
sad but sweet, in musing on the memory of what he 
was, and the proud consolation is yours that he gave 
you a name which he never tarnished, but which he 
splendored with the sunlit glories of nobility, fidelity 
and truth. 

Better consolations are yours, for the earth-born can 
never equal the heavenly. 

May the peace of God be on you, and the consolation 
of the Gospel of His Son your strong support. I ask 
of Him who ruleth over all, to manifest Himself to you 
as the God of the widowed, and that He will make 
proof to you of the everlasting truth of His promise : 
" As thy day is so shall thy strength be." 

As for me, I can only tell you that my soul is 
stricken, and my sympathy for you goes out strongly 
from an unfeigned heart. 



LETTERS. 605 



Letter from Rev. James P. Boyce, 
Professor in Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. 

Louisville, Ky., March 28th, 1887. 
My Dear Mrs. Perry. — Upon my return Saturday 
from a few days' absence I found the pamphlet you had 
sent me. I am very glad that you have reprinted this 
address of your distinguished husband, thus over forty 
years after its delivery at Erskine College. It is like 
old wine ; it is better than new. Would that its words 
of wisdom may make a deep impress upon the minds 
of many now young, and of many yet unborn who, 
though not privileged to have known Governor Perry 
save by report, will yet partake in this way of that wis- 
dom which he so illustriously displayed among those 
who knew him personally. I esteem it one of my 
greatest privileges of life to have enjoyed his friendship 
and confidence. The purity of his character, the nobility 
and fearlessness of his nature, his firm maintenance of 
what he thought right and just and patriotic in the 
midst of contrary influences of the good and great, and 
in defiance of the detraction of the base and mean, give 
a force that cannot be measured to all his words of 
morality and virtue. He was one of the very few who 
could handle the pitch of political life and not be 
defiled. I tl\ank God for the example given in him of 
one so pure and true a man. No one can tell what an 
influence it had upon his day and generation. I am 
glad that you will aid in perpetuating it through the 
reprint of this pamphlet. 



606 LETTERS. 



Eulogy by Hon. John D. Ashemore. 

The following, written in pencil in 1870, by the late Johrt 
D. Ashemore, Representative in the Congress of 1858-59, 
from the Fourth District of South Carolina, was found in 
the back of a volume of Walter Scott, borrowed by that 
gentleman from Governor Perry's library and subsequently 
returned : 

"Hon. B. F. Perry, Greenville C. H., S. C." 
" Pencilled by a friend and admirer, and one who has 
known him, boy and man, for well nigh forty years, 
and has been for more than half that period associated 
with him more or less in the councils of this distracted 
and now well-nigh ruined country, and who can with 
truth and sincerity assert and proclaim him to be the 
most truthful, sincere, upright and honest statesman, as 
well as the purest, and by far the most reliable man it 
has ever been the fortune of him who now pens these 
words ever to have met ; a man whom it is an honor to 
know, possessed of more moral courage than any one 
of the many hundreds with whom he has been most 
intimately associated in the trying scenes through which 
this country has been of late years called on to pass, 
and of whom it can be truthfully said, 'he is a man 
without blur or blemish.' Above disguise and mean- 
ness in all things, with heart and character pure as the 
crystal drops that form the mountain stream, and wise 
as the Sages of Scripture, the Consuls of 'Rome, or the 
Satraps of the East, and in patriotism high and pure as 
that of the ' Father of his country/ himself, and mani- 
festing a wisdom, sagacity, penetration and statesman- 
ship in the recent unhappy struggles of his country, far 
beyond that of any living man. 

" Oh ! that his counsel and wisdom had been followed 
and carried out as the guiding star of our cause, that a 
nation might rise up and call him ' blessed ; ' for full 
well would he have merited the blessing and been 



LETTEES. 607 

entitled to the proud distinction 'of the saviour of his 
country.' But alas ! alas ! his counsels have been set 
aside, his country a doomed wreck, and he with all the 
rest of us victims to the mad lust of power and misrule 
which has overwhelmed country and countrymen in one 
common vortex of ruin. When the hand that pencils 
these lines is cold in death, and the nature's nobleman 
to whom they are dedicated is recalled to his fathers, 
and his memory alone is left to be cherished by his 
family, friends, kindred, and countrymen, let them not 
be effaced, but remain as a feeble tribute from one who 
has known him long and known him well, and though 
often differing with him in judgment, has almost 
invariably found by the test of scrutiny and of time, 
his own error, while it has also vindicated the correct- 
ness and accuracy of the views of this ' nature's noble- 
man,' the Hon. Benjamin F. Perry, of Greenville, 
S. C." 



A MONUMENT TO GOVERNOR PERRY. 

A handsome and imposing monument has been erected 
over the grave of ex-Governor Benjamin Franklin Perry 
in the cemetery of Christ Episcopal Church, in Greenville. 
The monument is of a design, chaste and beautiful and 
befitting the character of the noble patriot and states- 
man, whose memory it will commemorate. It stands in 
the southeast corner of the family burying lot, rising to 
a height of twenty feet from the grass sod at its feet. 

The monument made and erected by Van Gunden & 
Young of Philadelphia, Pa., is of Barre granite. It 
consists of three bases, supporting a die, upon which 
rests a cap, from which in turn rises the pyramidal 
spire. The lower base is plain. On the western face 
of the second base is the name " Perry," sculptured in 
bold letters in relief. There are no other inscriptions 
on the bases. 

On each of the four faces of the die are raised tablets, 
on the polished face of which are lettered the inscrip- 
tions. The western face contains the following : 

In memory of 

Benj. Franklin Perry, 

Born 

November 20, 1805. 

Died 
December 3, 1886. 

On the opposite face of the die appears the following 
inscription : 

District Judge 

and 

District Attorney 

of the 

Southern Confederacy. 

State Senator and 

Provisional Governor 

of South Carolina 

and 

United States Senator 

60S elect. 



MONUMENT. 609 

On the southern tablet are the words, " The world is 
better that he lived," and on the northern side, " Safe in 
the keeping of everlasting love." 

The shaft that rises from the cap of the die is plain, 
except that on the western face is an artistic monogram 
of the letters' "B. F. P." comprising the governor's 
initials. 

The whole effect of the monument is impressive. It 
stands next to the grave of the young daughter of Gov- 
ernor and Mrs. Perry, and the contrast thus brought 
to pass between the sturdy statesman, dead in the ripe- 
ness of an honored old age, and the maiden taken in 
the flower of youth and loveliness, heightens the impres- 
siveness of the solid granite shaft. — Greenville News. 



INDEX. 



Address to Democracy Fifth Congressional District 153 

Adams, James. President 248 

Ames, Fisher, Statesman and Orator 518 

Acceptance Nomination for Congress 203 

Approval of Governor Perry's domination for Congress, 

Editorials T. .... 204 

Butler, Pierce, United States Senator 459 

Cleveland, Colonel Benjamin, Leader of a Hundred 

Fights 577 

Comments, Editorial, on Death of Governor Perry. ... 13 

Cowpens, Battle of, Anniversary Address 65 

Crawford, William H., Member of Cabinet 270 

Choate, Rufus, United State? Senator 5<»7 

Court Common Pleas, Proceedings on Death Gov. Perry 37 

Disunion, Discussion of in 1860 171 

Drayton. William H., Provincial Congress President. . 441 

Erskine College, Address by B. F. Perry 85 

Ellsworth, Oliver. Chief Justice United* States 403 

Eulogy of Governor Perry, by John D. Ashemore 606 

Franklin, Benjamin, Illustrious Philosopher 30S 

Greenville Bar, Proceedings on Death of Gov. Perry. . . 27 

Governor Perry's Address to his Constituency *. . . . 212 

Gadsden, Christopher, Prime Mover American Revolu- 
tion 264 

Grund\-. Felix. Attorney-General and U. S. Senator 546 

Hampton, General Wade, Governor and U. S. Senator 564 
History of National Democratic Convention of 1S60. . . 1S6 
Henry* Patrick. First Republican Governor of Virginia 279 
Hamilton, Alexander, Confidential Friend of Wash- 
ington 289 

House of Representatives. Action on Death of Gov. Perry 19 

Jay, John, the Boast and Pride of New York 393 

Jefferson, Thomas, Founder of Virginia University. . . 339 
Laurens, Henry. President Old Continental Congress. . 420 
Lee, Richard Henry, Delegate to Continental Congress 362 
Lee, Henry, Dashing Cavalry Revolutionary Officer.. . 535 
Legacy to His Country and His Children, Gov. Perry's 111 
Livingston, Edward, a distinguished Leader of Repub- 
lican Party 55-5 

Life of Governor Perry 1 

Lowndes, William, First Captain of W. L. Infantry 371 

Letters, Dr. F. Peyre Porcher 599 

6n 



612 INDEX. 

Letters, James P. Adams 600 

Letters, Colonel J. N. Brown 601 

Letters, Charleston Convention 602 

Letters, Rev. H. Melville Jackson 603 

Letters, Rev. James P. Boyce 605 

Madison, James, Father of the Federal Constitution. . . 350 
Morris, Gouverneur, Graceful and Accomplished Gen- 
tleman 428 

Middleton, Arthur, Signer Declaration of Independence 454 
Marshall, John, Illustrious Judge and Great Diplo- 
matist 467 

Monument of Governor B. F. Perry 608 

Oration Fourth July, B. F. Perry 47 

Otis, James, Sowed the Seeds of Rebellion in 1761 243 

Parsons, Theophilus, " The Giant of the Law " 47S 

Pinckney, Chas. Cotesworth, Aide-de-Camp to General 

Washington 259 

Pinckney, Charles, Four Times Governor 447 

Piukney, William, Accomplished Gentleman, Orator 

and Lawyer 329 

Refusal Admittance of South Carolina U. S. Senators 191 
Ramsay, David, Delivered the First Fourth July Ora- 
tion 496 

Randolph, John, " Little John," Eccentric Orator 382 

Rutledge, John, a Student of the Temple in London. . 254 
Roebuck, Colonel Benjamin, the Beau Ideal of a Brave 

Officer 592 

Smith, William, the First Contested Congressional 

Elector 410 

Sherman, Roger, Apprenticed Shoemaker 488 

Speech on State Federal Affairs, by B. F. Perry Ill 

Speech in National Democratic Convention, 1860 145 

Sumter, Thomas, " Game Cock of Carolina " 570 

The Ancients and the Moderns 217 

United States Senator B. F. Perry 190 

Washington, George, the Father of his Country 297 

Wirt, William, author of " British Spy," "Old Bach- 
elor," etc 526 



ERRATA. 

Page 10, ninth line, seven children should be nine. 

" 14, twenty-fourth line, powers should be power. 

" 47, second line from bottom, imperfect should be im- 
perial. 

" 60, twelfth line from bottom, not is left out, should be, 
Let not the voice. 

" 82, fifth line from bottom, convert should be covert 
and insidious. 

" 94, fourth line from bottom, the should be left out, to 
read, of beauty. 

" 158, sixteenth line from bottom, his should be this. 

" 179, seventh line from top, editor should be editors. 

" 187, eighteenth line from bottom, cavalling should be 
cavilling. 

" 192, ninth line from top, is should be as. 

" 203, letter accepting nomination for Congress was'placed 
after the pages were numbered and forms printed. 

" 204, the date of year 1872 is omitted. 

" 212, the date of year 1872 is omitted. 

" 217, fifteenth line from bottom, stagarile should be stag- 
arite. 

" 225, tenth line from bottom, histories should be histo- 
rians. 

" 228, tenth line from bottom, wastes should be coasts. 

" 236, fourth line from top, writing should be uniting. 

" 237, sixteenth line from top, could should be would. 

" 260, eleventh line from bottom, Raulin should be 
Rawlin. 

" 271, eighteenth line from bottom should read, William 
taught. 

" 548, second line from bottom, I was should read, and 
was. 

" 551, thirteenth line from top, and transcendent should 
read, of transcendent. 

" 579, sixteenth line from top, Petigru should be Pettigru. 



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